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u/lul  COjVI PUI IVIEHTS  OF  ••■••••• 


^f^etpopolitan  f^a^k  Commission. 


HOUSE 


JSo.  150. 


REPORT  OF  THE  BOARD 

OF 

Metropolitan  Park  Commissioners. 


J a n u A r y,  1893. 


AN  ACT 


To  establish  a Board  of  Metropolitan  Park  Commissioners 
and  to  define  its  Powers  and  Duties. 

Be  it  enacted , etc.,  as  follows : 

Section  1.  The  governor,  by  and  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the 
council,  shall  appoint  three  persons,  to  be  known  as  the  Metropolitan 
Park  Commissioners,  who  shall  hold  their  office  for  one  year  from  the 
first  day  of  May  in  the  year  eighteen  hundred  and  ninety-two.  Said 
commissioners  shall  consider  the  advisability  of  laying  out  ample  open 
spaces  for  the  use  of  the  public,  in  the  towns  and  cities  in  the  vicinity  of 
Boston,  and  shall  have  authority  to  make  maps  and  plans  of  such  spaces 
and  to  collect  such  other  information  in  relation  thereto  as  it  may  deem 
expedient,  and  shall  report  to  the  next  general  court,  on  or  before 
the  first  Wednesday  of  February,  a comprehensive  plan  for  laying 
out,  acquiring  and  maintaining  such  open  spaces. 

Sect.  2.  Said  commissioners  may  employ  such  assistants  as  they 
may  deem  necessary,  and  may  expend  such  sums  therefor  and  in  the 
discharge  of  their  duties,  including  the  actual  travelling  expenses  of 
said  members,  as  the  governor  and  council  may  determine.  Said  com- 
missioners shall  receive  no  compensation. 

Sect.  3.  This  act  shall  take  effect  upon  its  passage. 


Xo- 1 


2 


Frontispiece.  The  Blue  Hill  Range,  Milton.  After  a drawing  by  Ross  Turner. 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 


PAGE 

An  Act  to  establish  a Board  of  Metropolitan  Park  Commis- 
sioners,   ii 

Report  of  the  Commission, ix 

Report  of  the  Secretary, * 1 

PART  FIRST. 

I.  Need  of  an  Ample  Provision  of  Open  Spaces,  and  Difficulties  in 

the  Way  of  obtaining  them , 1 

1.  Some  contradictory  aspects  of  the  metropolitan  region,  1 

2.  Peculiar  political  geography  of  the  neighborhood  of 

Boston, 3 

3.  Disintegration  and  reintegration  of  communities  in  this 

neighborhood, 5 

4.  Difficulty  of  the  municipal  problem  here  involved,  . 7 

5.  Various  needs  that  require  consideration,  ...  9 

6.  Local  jealousies  a bar  to  satisfactory  results,  . . 10 

7.  Drafts  upon  local  resources  through  rapid  growth  an 

impediment  to  proper  dealing  with  this  question,  . 12 

II.  The  Logical  Method  of  solving  this  Problem,  . . . .13 

1.  The  best  instrumentality  for  securing  the  desired  ends, . 13 

2.  Cost  of  acquiring  the  proposed  lands. — Aid  from  private 

beneficence, 17 

3.  Sanitary  improvements  promoted  by  recreative  treat- 

ment.— Protecting  water  supplies,  . . .18 

4.  Constituent  communities  of  the  metropolitan  district,  . 20 

III.  Special  Advantages  that  will  follow  the  Adoption  of  this  Plan,  22 

1.  Direct  value  of  an  attractive  environment  to  Boston,  . 23 

2.  Advantages  accruing  to  local  communities  from  pleasure 

grounds  beyond  their  limits, 24 

PART  SECOND. 

I.  An  Examination  of  the  Separate  Features  under  Consideration , 25 

II.  Boston  Bay,  — Its  Islands  and  Shores, 25 

1.  Restoring  the  tree-covering  on  the  islands,  . . .27 

2.  The  south  shore, 29 


IV 


METROPOLITAN  PARKS. 


ii. 


in. 


IV. 


v. 


VI. 


Boston  Bay , — Its  Islands  and  Shores  — Concluded. 

3.  Nantasket  Beach  and  the  hills  and  shores  of  Hull, 

The  Hingham,  Weymouth  and  Braintree  shores,  . 

The  north  shore.  — Winthrop  : a typical  illustration  of 
detrimental  real  estate  development, 

A warning  example  from  England, 

How  best  to  promote  a healthy  local  growth,  . 

Notable  local  features  in  Winthrop,  .... 

Revere : invaluable  character  of  the  magnificent  beach, 
The  Lynn,  Nahant  and  Swampscott  shores,  . 

Inland  Features  of  the  North  and  West  Metropolitan  Begion.  — 
Lynn  Woods , ........ 

The  Saugus  River  valley.  — “ Appleton’s  Pulpit,”  . 
Snake  Creek  valley  between  Chelsea  and  Revere,  . 

The  valley  of  the  Mystic  River, 

The  uatural  park  for  Everett  and  Charlestown, 

The  Upper  Mystic.  — Mystic  Lakes,  Woburn  and  Win- 
chester, 

The  Middlesex  Eells, 


4. 

5. 

6. 

7. 

8. 

9. 

10. 


7.  The  Waverley  Oaks, 

8.  Prospect  Hill,  . 

The  Charles  Hirer,  . 

1. 

2. 

3. 


Pollution  of  the  stream, 

The  menace  of  malaria, 

Recreative  value  of  the  river, 

4.  Utilitarian  ends  best  served  by  recreative  means, 

5.  Present  conditions  of  the  river, 

6.  Existing  public  holdings  bordering  the  Charles,  . 

7.  The  Hemlock  Gorge  at  Echo  Bridge,  .... 
Features  of  the  South  Metropolitan  Begion.  — The  Neponset 

Biver, 

1.  The  Muddy  Pond  Woods  in  West  Roxbury  and  Hyde 

Park, 

2.  In  West  Roxbury  and  Brookline, 

3.  The  Blue  Hill  range, 

Lakes  and  Bonds  of  the  Metropolitan  District , 

1.  The  example  set  by  Wakefield  at  Lake  Quannapowitt, 

2.  Jamaica  Pond  and  other  lakes, 

3.  Horn  Pond  in  Woburn, 


30 

30 

31 

34 

34 

35 

36 

38 

39 

39 

40 

40 

41 

42 

43 
45 

45 

46 

47 
47 
49 

51 

52 

53 

54 

55 

56 

57 

58 

59 

59 

60 
61 


PART  THIRD. 


I.  Special  Pleasure-ways , or  Boads  for  Light  Traffic, 

1.  Occupation  of  highways  by  street  railways, 

2.  The  Illinois  boulevard  law, 

3.  A deficiency  of  good  and  pleasant  roads  connecting 

with  Boston  from  the  northward,  .... 

4.  A general  parkway  act  recommended,  .... 


62 

63 

63 

65 

66 


CONTENTS 


v 


PAGE 

II.  Local  Pleasure  Grounds , Playgrounds  and  Breathing  Spots,  . 67 

1.  Model  examples  of  local  pleasure  grounds  in  Boston,  68 

2.  Present  playground  provisions  in  various  communities 

of  the  metropolitan  district, 70 

3.  Certain  drawbacks  to  the  suburban  movement  as  a 

remedy  for  the  evils  of  a congested  population,  70 

4.  Ideal  urban  conditions : a combination  of  town  and 


country, 72 

5.  The  tendencies  toward  this  ideal  as  illustrated  in  Bos- 

ton to-day, 73 

6.  Tenement  blocks  with  central  garden  and  playground 

spaces, 73 

7.  Local  pleasure  grounds  a subject  of  world-wide  interest,  77 

8.  Need  of  foresight  in  establishing  local  pleasure  grounds,  79 

9.  Legislation  recommended, 80 


Report  of  the  Landscape  Architect, 82 

Introduction, 82 


PART  FIRST. 

A summary  of  the  physical  and  historical  geography  of  the 


metropolitan  district, 

. 83 

The  rock  foundation, 

. 83 

The  glacial  rubbish,  . 

. 84 

The  fresh  waters, 

. 85 

The  sea, 

. 85 

The  effects  of  human  occupancy, 

. 86 

PART  SECOND. 

A study  of  the  way  in  which  the  peculiar  geography  of  the 
metropolitan  district  ought  to  govern  the  selection 
of  the  sites  of  public  open  spaces,  . . . .89 


PART  THIRD. 

A review  of  the  opportunities  which  still  present  themselves 
for  creating  new  open  spaces  in  accordance  with 


the  governing  considerations  just  laid  down,  . . 92 

The  rock-hills,  . . . . « . . .92 

The  ponds  and  streams,  .......  98 

The  bay  and  the  sea,  . . . . . . . . 107 


VI 


METROPOLITAN  PARKS. 


PAGE 

Appendices, 113 

A.  An  act  to  establish  a Metropolitan  Parks  Commission,  . . 115 

B.  An  act  in  addition  to  an  act  for  the  laying-out  of  public  parks 

by  towns  and  cities, 124 

C.  An  act  to  facilitate  the  procuring  of  playgrounds  by  cities 

and  towns, 127 

D.  An  act  to  encourage  the  building  of  tenement-houses  around 

garden  or  playground  spaces, 130 

E.  Restoration  of  tree-growth  on  the  islands  and  shores  of  Bos- 

ton Bay.  — Report  of  Frederick  Law  Olmsted  on 
“The  improvement  of  Boston’s  advantages  as  a 
summer  resort,” 131 

F.  A “ Massachusetts  Forest,”  .......  143 


ILLUSTRATIVE  PLATES 


Vll 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIVE  PLATES. 


1.  Pine  Hill , Medford . 

2.  North  Reservoir , Winchester. 

3.  Spot  Pond , Stoneham. 

4.  sftore  o/  La&e  Quannapowitt , Wakefield.  After  a photograph 
by  E.  N.  Gleason. 

5.  Owe  of  the  Malden  cliffs. 

6.  A crag  near  the  Bear's  den,  Malden.  After  a photograph  by  Francis 

W.  Morandi. 

7.  Cascade  near  Fells  Station , Melrose.  After  a photograph  by  George 

E.  Davenport. 

8.  Island  End  Creek  and  Mystic  River , Everett. 

9.  Snake  Creek , Chelsea  and  Revere. 

10.  Belle  Isle  Creek  and  Breed's  Island. 

11.  Great  Head,  Winthrop.  After  a photograph  by  N.  L.  Stebbins. 

12.  Revere  Beach.  After  a photograph  by  N.  L.  Stebbins. 

13.  The  sea  front  at  Brighton,  England. 

14.  Beaver  Brook  Oaks , Waverley.  After  a photograph  by  Henry  Brooks. 

15.  Charles  River  at  Riverside  Station.  Drawn  by  W.  P.  Bodwell,  after 

a photograph  by  Augustus  Pond. 

16.  Charles  River , Newton  and  Weston.  After  a photograph  by  Charles 

Wells  Hubbard. 

17.  Boating  on  the  Thames,  near  London,  England. 

18.  A run-way  on  the  Thames.  Drawn  by  Louis  J.  Bridgman,  after  a 

photograph  by  F.  L.  Olmsted,  Jr. 

19.  Hemlock  Gorge,  Newton  Upper  Falls.  After  a photograph  by 

Francis  W.  Morandi. 

20.  The  Blue  Hills  over  Muddy  Pond  Woods. 

21.  Muddy  Pond,  West  Roxbury. 

22.  The  Fowl  Meadows,  Neponset  River.  After  a photograph  by  Benja- 

man  Kimball. 

23.  Paul's  Bridge,  Neponset  River.  After  a photograph  by  George  H. 

Chickering. 

24.  Neponset  River  near  Mattapan.  After  a photograph  by  Roland 

Thaxter. 

25.  Neponset  River  under  Milton  Hill. 

26.  Neponset  marshes  and  the  distant  Blue  Hills. 

27.  Black's  Creek,  Quincy. 

28.  Thompson's  Island,  from  Little  Squantum . 

29.  Peddock’s  Island,  from  Point  Pemberton. 

30.  Nantasket  shore,  Hull  and  Cohasset.  By  permission  of  Charles 

Pollock,  Hamilton  Place,  Boston. 

31.  Nantasket  Beach,  Hull.  By  permission  of  Charles  Pollock,  Hamilton 

Place,  Boston. 


viii  LIST  OF  MAPS,  PLANS,  ETC. 


LIST  OF  MAPS,  PLANS,  DIAGRAMS  AND  OF  ILLUSTRA- 
TIONS PRINTED  WITH  THE  TEXT. 


PAGE 

Diagram  of  municipal  boundaries  in  the  neighborhood  of  Boston,  15 
Plan  of  the  southerly  portion  of  the  Charlesbank,  near  the  West 

Boston  bridge,  Boston, 69 

Plan  of  Charlestown  playground, 70 

Artisans’  dwellings  erected  by  the  municipality,  Liverpool,  Eng.,  . 74 

Plan  of  tenements  erected  by  the  Co-operative  Building  Company, 

Boston, 76 

Comparative  diagrams  of  public  open  spaces  around  London,  Paris 

and  Boston, 82 

Map  of  the  Middlesex  Fells, 94 

Map  of  the  Blue  Hills, 97 

Cheese-cake  Brook,  Newton, . 101 

Charles  River  basin, 103 

Part  of  parkway,  Muddy  River,  Boston  and  Brookline,  . . . 104 

Map  of  the  metropolitan  district, 112 

Diagram  of  Boston  Bay,  . . . . . . . . 135 

Chart  of  Boston  Bay,  142 


(Eommcmtoealtl)  of  iflassncljusetts, 


To  the  Honorable  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  of  the  Common  ■ 
wealth  in  General  Court  assembled. 

The  Board  of  Metropolitan  Park  Commissioners,  appointed 
under  the  provisions  of  chapter  342  of  the  Acts  of  1892, 
present  the  following  report : — 

The  members  of  the  commission  were  appointed  in  July, 
and  the  Board  organized  early  in  August.  The  act  establish- 
ing the  Board  (Acts  of  1892,  chapter  342)  required  the  com- 
missioners to  “ consider  the  advisability  of  laying  out  ample 
open  spaces  for  the  use  of  the  public,  in  the  towns  and  cities 
in  the  vicinity  of  Boston,”  and,  the  better  to  enable  them  to 
do  this,  to  “ employ  such  assistants  as  they  may  deem  neces- 
sary.” Upon  consideration,  it  was  decided  that  a proper 
performance  of  the  work  in  hand  would  call  for  the  services 
of  a secretary  interested  in  the  subject  and  familiar  with  the 
ground  to  be  covered,  whose  duty  it  would  be  also  to  collect 
documentary  information ; a professional  landscape  archi- 
tect, to  devise  a practical  scheme  of  development  and  pre- 
pare the  maps,  plans  and  report  to  explain  it ; and,  finally, 
a legal  adviser,  to  look  up  the  precedents  for  legislation  and 
draft  the  acts  to  carry  the  proposed  scheme  into  effect. 
Sylvester  Baxter  was  thereupon  appointed  secretary ; the 
services  of  Charles  Eliot,  as  landscape  architect,  were 
engaged ; and  those  of  Conrad  Reno  as  legal  adviser. 

During  September,  October  and  the  early  portion  of 
November,  the  commissioners,  in  company  with  Messrs. 
Baxter  and  Eliot,  visited  personally  every  point  of  interest  in 
connection  with  the  work  in  hand  within  ten  miles  of  Boston, 
including  the  islands  in  the  harbor  and  the  Revere  and  Nan- 
tasket  beaches;  the  Lynn  Woods,  the  Middlesex  Fells  and 
the  Blue  Hills  Forest ; the  basins  of  the  Charles,  the  Mystic 


X 


METROPOLITAN  PARKS. 


[Jan. 


and  the  Neponset  rivers ; the  Waverley  Oaks,  Prospect  and 
Bellevue  Hills ; the  Muddy  Pond  Woods,  and  Mystic,  Spot, 
Spy,  Horn  and  Fresh  ponds;  besides  other  localities  unnec- 
essary to  specify  here,  but  all  of  which  will  be  found  re- 
ferred to  in  detail  in  the  accompanying  report  of  the  secretary 
and  the  scheme  of  Mr.  Eliot. 

In  the  course  of  these  visits  the  commissioners  met  the 
various  boards  of  park  commissioners  of  the  cities  and 
towns  interested,  where  such  boards  existed,  and  had  a free 
and  full  exchange  of  views  with  the  gentlemen  composing 
those  boards.  They  also  familiarized  themselves,  in  so  far 
as  they  could,  with  the  plans  of  future  development  those 
boards  had  under  consideration.  Incidentally,  careful  con- 
sideration was  given  to  problems  of  water  supply  and  drainage. 

The  elaborate  report  prepared  by  the  secretary,  and  Mr. 
Eliot’s  scheme  of  park  development,  herewith  submitted, 
make  it  unnecessary  for  the  commissioners  to  enter  into  de- 
tails. All  needful  information  on  every  point  involved  can 
be  obtained  from  those  documents  and  the  accompanying 
maps  and  plans.  What  the  commissioners  have  to  say, 
therefore,  will  be  brief,  and  limited  practically  to  recom- 
mendations of  immediate  legislative  action.  The  scheme 
proposed  cannot  be  carried  out  in  its  entirety  at  once  ; nor, 
in  the  opinion  of  the  commissioners,  would  it  be  either  wise 
or  economical  to  hurry  it.  The  first  step  only  can  now 
be  taken ; and,  although  that  step  may  not  in  itself  seem 
considerable,  it  commits  the  Commonwealth  to  a policy  of 
far-reaching  consequence,  and  should  accordingly  be  well 
considered. 

The  commissioners  are  in  the  first  place  satisfied  that 
it  is  necessary  to  organize  a metropolitan  district.  The 
time  for  this  is  distinctly  come,  and  for  several  years  legis- 
lation has  been  shaping  itself  to  that  end.  The  great  in- 
crease of  rapid  transit  facilities  since  the  railroad  system 
was  originated,  and  their  more  recent  development  through 
electricity,  has  already  made  every  town  within  ten  miles  of 
Boston  a close  suburb  of  that  city.  Those  towns  may  in 
fact  be  said  to  be  the  bed-chambers  of  the  city  counting- 
room.  To  Boston  a great  and  always  increasing  proportion 
of  those  living  in  the  surrounding  municipalities  now  go 


1893.] 


HOUSE  — No.  150. 


xi 


daily  to  pursue  their  business  or  make  their  purchases ; 
and  from  Boston  they  daily  return  to  their  homes.  In 
everything  but  in  name  they  are  inhabitants  of  both  places  ; 
and,  in  everything  but  in  local  government  and  name,  the 
two  places  are  one.  Each  new  appliance  of  rapid  transit 
gives  an  additional  impetus  to  this  phase  of  development ; 
and  new  appliances  ever  crowd  upon  each  other.  There  is 
in  the  development,  also,  much  that  is  good  and  little  that  is 
bad ; it  is  natural,  healthy,  and  advantageous  in  a large 
way  to  all  concerned.  It  should  accordingly  be  recognized 
and  made  the  basis  of  legislation ; for  without  such  recog- 
nition and  consequent  legislation  the  necessary  provision  for 
growth  cannot  be  made.  Of  this  the  whole  region  referred 
to  now  shows  abundant  and  lamentable  evidence.  Recog- 
nition has  already  been  much  too  long  delayed. 

The  limits  of  what  the  commissioners  designate  as  the 
metropolitan  district  define  themselves  with  sufficient  dis- 
tinctness. Within  it  are  comprised  generally  all  the  cities 
and  towns  served  by  the  system  of  local,  suburban  or 
accommodation  trains  on  the  railroads  terminating  in  Bos- 
ton. These  are  the  twelve  cities  of  Boston,  Cambridge, 
Chelsea,  Everett,  Lynn,  Malden,  Medford,  Newton,  Quincy, 
Somerville,  Waltham  and  Woburn,  and  the  twenty-four 
towns  of  Arlington,  Belmont,  Braintree,  Brookline,  Canton, 
Dedham,  Hingham,  Hull,  Hyde  Park,  Melrose,  Milton, 
Nahant,  Needham,  Revere,  Saugus,  Stoneham,  Swampscott, 
Wakefield,  Watertown,  Wellesley,  Weston,  Weymouth, 
Winchester  and  Winthrop. 

The  cities  and  towns  above  named  contain  altogether  eight 
hundred  and  eighty-eight  thousand  inhabitants,  or  close  upon 
forty  per  cent,  of  the  entire  population  of  the  Common- 
wealth. The  proposed  district  is  also,  as  respects  both 
population  and  wealth,  the  most  rapidly  increasing  part 
of  Massachusetts.  A city  population  is  fast  diffusing  itself 
over  it.  It  is  not  unsafe  to  predict  that,  containing  nearly 
nine  hundred  thousand  inhabitants  now,  it  will  contain  a 
million  and  a half  within  a measurable  time.  To  all  practical 
intents  and  purposes  also  that  population  will  consist  of  the 
inhabitants  of  one  large  municipality. 

This  state  of  affairs  cannot  but  call  for  some  common 


Xll 


METROPOLITAN  PARKS. 


[Jan. 


regulation  of  many  things  entering  of  necessity  into  modern 
civilized  life.  Such  a system  of  common  regulation  should 
not  be  precipitated,  or  entered  upon  in  pursuance  of  any 
theory  or  desire  of  symmetry.  The  advantages  of  local 
government  are  well  understood  in  Massachusetts,  and  do 
not  need  to  be  dwelt  upon  here  : but,  where  a political  need 
exists,  intelligent  provision  should  be  made  for  it ; for,  if  it 
be  not  made,  growth  will  go  on  all  the  same,  though  in  some 
forced  and  unnatural  way.  In  a great  metropolitan  district, 
consisting  of  one  large  city  and  its  suburbs,  near  and 
remote, — a district  like  that  around  London,  Paris,  New 
York,  Chicago,  and  in  similar,  though  less,  degree,  Boston,  — 
there  are  common  needs  and  interests  in  matters  of  police, 
drainage,  water  supply,  means  of  communication,  and  to 
these  should  be  added  open-space  reservations.  A proper 
park  system  for  a community  of  this  character  cannot  be 
developed  within  local  lines,  nor  is  it  just  to  localities  that 
it  should  be  so  developed.  All  enjoy  the  results ; ail  con- 
sequently should  participate  according  to  their  means  and 
needs  in  bringing  those  results  about. 

This  proposition  the  commissioners  do  not  deem  it  neces- 
sary to  elaborate  further  than  by  a single  illustration.  The 
summer  — the  period  of  heat  and  out-of-door  life  and  enjoy- 
ment — is  the  season  of  the  year  when  all  feel  the  need  of 
open-air  reservations ; the  luxury  of  the  rich,  these  then 
become  the  right,  as  well  as  the  necessity,  of  the  poor.  The 
natural  trend  of  movement  at  that  season  in  eastern  Massa- 
chusetts speaks  unmistakably  for  itself,  and  shows  what  the 
popular  demand  is ; rich  and  poor  instinctively  find  their 
way  towards  the  ocean ; the  excursion  steamers  are  thronged, 
the  beaches  are  black  with  visitors.  Nor  is  this  movement 
confined  to  those  who  dwell  in  the  crowded  districts  of 
Boston.  It  takes  in  all  the  suburbs  of  Boston.  The  islands 
in  the  bay  should,  therefore,  in  answer  to  this  natural 
demand,  be  at  no  remote  time  converted  into  marine  parks, 
and  the  beaches  should  be  set  aside  and  sacredly  preserved 
as  public  reservations.  Yet  this  can  never  be  done  except 
through  combined  action.  To  expect  the  local  municipalities 
— sometimes  towns  neither  rich  nor  populous  — to  carry  the 
burden  of  such  a public  work  as  the  proper  improvement  of 


1893.] 


HOUSE  — No.  150. 


xm 


Revere  or  Nantasket  beach,  is  neither  right  nor  practical. 
It  must  be  borne  by  the  district  for  whose  benefit  and  enjoy- 
ment it  will  exist,  or  the  burden  most  assuredly  will  not  be 
assumed  at  all. 

The  first  and  obvious  step,  therefore,  towards  a proper 
system  of  open-space  reservations,  is  the  organization  of  a 
metropolitan  district  on  the  lines  indicated ; and  the  com- 
missioners have  accordingly  caused  to  be  prepared,  and  they 
herewith  submit,  a bill  to  that  end.  (See  Appendix  A.) 

Under  ordinary  circumstances,  this  Board  would  not  deem 
it  necessary  to  go  further  at  present.  The  enactment  of 
some  such  bill  as  that  proposed  is  the  initial  step ; and, 
ordinarily,  one  step  at  a time  is  enough.  The  creation  of  a 
metropolitan  district  involves,  of  course,  an  executive  power 
to  make  the  organization  of  the  proposed  district  effective  ; 
and  to  that  executive  power  would  naturally  be  referred  the 
“comprehensive  plan  for  laying  out,  acquiring  and  main- 
taining open  spaces,”  provided  for  in  the  act  creating  this 
Board,  and  contained  in  the  reports  of  the  secretary  and  Mr. 
Eliot.  To  carry  that  plan  into  effect,  either  wholly  or  in 
part,  would  be  the  next  step ; and  this  step  will  necessitate 
further  and  yet  more  careful  consideration,  for  it  will 
involve  not  only  large  financial  outlay,  but  the  solution 
of  intricate  engineering  problems,  to  effect  which  careful 
legislation  will  need  to  be  matured.  The  work  of  years  is 
involved. 

Take,  for  instance,  the  two  beaches,  Nantasket  and  Revere, 
already  referred  to,  and  the  Charles  River  basin.  In  both 
cases  matters  have  been  so  long  neglected  and  things  allowed 
traditionally  to  take  their  own  course  wholly  without  direc- 
tion, that  to  disentangle  the  existing  complication  will  be  a 
difficult  task.  And  yet,  in  the  case  of  the  Charles  River 
basin  at  least,  it  is  a task  that  has  got  to  be  entered  upon ; 
for  the  Charles  River  basin  has  become  a problem  of  health, 
which,  through  an  increasing  death  rate,  will  soon  or  late 
force  its  own  solution  upon  even  the  most  unwilling  com- 
munity. Every  year  of  delay  will  only  make  that  solution 
more  difficult  and  more  costly. 

The  commissioners  would  therefore  rest  satisfied  with 
submitting  a general  plan,  and  providing  the  machinery  for 


XIV 


METROPOLITAN  PARKS. 


[Jan. 


deliberately  entering  on  the  work  of  carrying  that  plan  out 
in  such  way  as  may  hereafter  be  found  most  expedient  and 
practical,  did  not  recent  observation  satisfy  them  that  any 
further  delay  may,  in  some  respects,  involve  more  irrepa- 
rable injury  and  greatly  increased  future  expense.  So  far 
as  the  Nantasket  and  Revere  beaches  and  the  Charles  and 
Neponset  basins  are  concerned,  the  mischief  has  to  a large 
extent  been  done;  they  can, — indeed,  they  must,  wait; 
for  the  vested  rights  involved  present  problems  and  diffi- 
culties which  cannot  be  solved  or  overcome  at  once.  So 
with  the  islands  in  Boston  harbor.  With  two  considerable 
exceptions  only,  — Thompson’s  and  Peddock’s, — they  are 
already  owned  either  by  the  national  government  or  by  Bos- 
ton ; they  accordingly  are  safe.  Leaving  their  development 
to  the  future  involves  no  risk.  But  this  is  not  the  case  with 
two  of  the  remaining  large  open  spaces  within  the  proposed 
metropolitan  district, — the  so-called  Middlesex  Fells,  and 
the  Blue  Hills  Forest.  The  commissioners  do  not  propose 
here  to  dilate  on  the  convenient  location  and  the  natural 
beauties  of  those  two  regions.  They  are  sufficiently  indi- 
cated and  referred  to  on  the  plan  and  in  the  documents 
which  accompany  this  report.  It  is  merely  necessary  here 
to  say  that,  in  the  opinion  of  the  commissioners,  immediate 
action  is  desirable  towards  securing  those  tracts  of  territory 
for  all-time  public  use,  unless  great  risk  is  to  be  incurred 
that,  in  regard  to  them  also,  the  experience  of  the  ocean 
beaches  and  river  basins  will  repeat  itself.  The  real  estate 
speculator  is  already  making  inroads  upon  them ; and  town 
sites  are  incompatible  with  wild  natural  reservations  and 
forest  life.  It  needs  but  little  time  in  these  matters  to  work 
irreparable  injury  ; and  the  observation  of  the  commissioners 
satisfies  them  that  the  danger  of  such  injury,  so  far  as  both 
the  fells  and  the  forest  are  concerned,  is  immediately  im- 
minent. 

Together  these  two  open  spaces  include  some  five  thousand 
acres,  three  thousand  of  which  lie  north  of  the  city  of  Bos- 
ton and  two  thousand  south  of  it;  both  within  an  easy 
attainable  distance.  Those  dwelling  in  any  part  of  the  pro- 
posed metropolitan  district  can  reach  and  enjoy  one  or  the 
other.  The  whole,  in  its  natural  wild  state,  could  now  be 


HOUSE  — No.  150. 


XV 


1893.] 

secured  and  set  aside  as  a public  reservation,  park  and 
pleasure  ground,  secure  to  all  future  generations  at  a com- 
paratively slight  cost.  Their  artistic  development  might 
safely  be  left  to  the  future  ; for  then,  like  the  islands  of  Bos- 
ton harbor,  they  will  be  secure,  and  always  there. 

In  the  bill  submitted,  general  financial  provision  is  made 
to  enable  the  proposed  commission  to  enter  on  its  work 
with  energy  and  upon  a suitable,  though  reasonable,  scale  ; 
and  this  provision  includes  an  amount  which  a careful 
estimate  satisfies  the  present  board  should  be  adequate  for 
the  immediate  acquisition  of  the  Middlesex  Fells  and  the 
Blue  Hills  Forest,  if  such  acquisition  is  deemed  desirable. 
In  framing  this  feature  of  the  act,  it  is  only  necessary 
further  to  say  that  the  precedent  and  analogy  of  the  metro- 
politan sewerage  act  of  1889  (chapter  439)  has  been  closely 
followed. 

Provision  is  also  made,  for  the  prompt  acquisition  of  any 
smaller  spots  within  the  proposed  district  of  recognized 
natural  beauty  and  interest,  such  as  the  Waverley  Oaks  and 
Hemlock  Gorge  at  Echo  Bridge,  should  the  acquisition  of 
any  such  be  expedient  to  preserve  them,  or  should  public- 
spirited  benefactors  wish  to  purchase  and  dedicate  them  to 
the  people. 

Finally,  it  will  be  observed  that  during  the  first  five  years 
of  the  existence  of  the  proposed  metropolitan  parks  district 
the  proportion  of  the  total  expense  which  may  be  incurred 
is  in  the  case  of  Boston  arbitrarily  fixed  at  one-half  of  the 
whole,  leaving  the  other  half  to  be  apportioned  among  the 
cities  and  towns  of  the  district  other  than  Boston.  Fifty 
per  cent,  of  the  whole  would  be  unquestionably  less  than 
the  proportion  allotted  to  Boston  on  a division  based  upon 
either  valuation  or  population ; but,  on  the  other  hand,  the 
commissioners  in  fixing  this  arbitrary  allotment  had  in 
mind  the  fact  that  Boston  has  already  incurred,  or  is  now 
incurring,  an  expense  of  some  $11,000,000  in  developing 
a system  of  parks  at  its  own  cost,  which  are  free  to  the 
whole  metropolitan  district.  The  maintenance  of  these 
parks,  including  the  Castle  Island  water  park,  involves  a 
yearly  expense  of  about  $100,000.  Thus  Boston  is  already 
on  its  own  account  involved,  because  of  open-air  reserva- 


XVI 


METROPOLITAN  PARKS.  [Jan.  ’93. 


tions  free  to  all,  in  a total  and  annual  outlay  at  least  ten 
times  as  large  as  is  at  present  proposed  for  the  entire  met- 
ropolitan district  of  which  that  city  is  a part ; and  of  which 
it  is,  in  addition  to  its  own  outlay,  to  bear  one-half  of  the 
whole  expense. 

So  far  as  the  present  is  concerned,  the  commissioners  de- 
cline to  make  further  recommendations.  The  schemes  of 
development  suggested  in  the  accompanying  papers  of  the 
secretary  and  Mr.  Eliot  are  attractive,  and  have  much  to 
recommend  them.  Doubtless,  also,  they  are  well  considered  ; 
but  too  much  should  not  be  attempted  at  once,  and  the  proj- 
ects outlined  in  these  documents  can  best  engage  hereafter 
the  attention  of  the  permanent  commissioners  provided  for 
in  the  accompanying  form  of  bill,  should  that  measure 
become  a law. 

All  of  which  is  respectfully  submitted. 

CHARLES  FRANCIS  ADAMS, 
PHILIP  A.  CHASE, 

WILLIAM  B.  de  las  CASAS, 

Metropolitan  Park  Commissioners. 


Pine  Hill,  Medford. 


SECRETARY’S  REPORT. 


PART  FIRST. 


I. 

Need  or  an  Ample  Provision  of  Open  Spaces,  and 
Difficulties  in  the  Way  of  obtaining  Them. 

To  the  Board  of  Metropolitan  Park  Commissioners  : — 

Gentlemen  : — The  provision  of  ample  open  spaces  for 
public  recreation  and  the  promotion  of  public  health  is  now 
universally  regarded  as  an  essential  feature  in  the  proper 
equipment  of  urban  communities.  In  all  parts  of  the  civil- 
ized world  the  leading  cities  are  recognizing  this  necessity. 
The  younger  cities  are  perceiving  the  wisdom  of  providing 
amply  for  the  future  in  this  respect  by  securing  lands  in  suit- 
able locations  and  in  sufficient  amount,  to  be  developed  with 
the  growth  of  their  population.  The  older  cities,  like  Lon- 
don, Paris  and  Berlin,  though  long  possessed  of  extensive 
reservations  of  this  description,  are  to-day  finding  their 
amount  of  open  spaces  inadequate,  and  are  taking  measures 
for  securing  extensive  areas  in  addition  that  will  ’meet  the 
needs  of  the  future. 

It  was  in  view  of  the  needs  of  the  country  around  Boston 
that  the  General  Court  of  1892  authorized  the  appointment 
of  a commission  to  investigate  the  subject,  directing  that 
a plan  be  reported  for  providing  ample  open  spaces  for  the 
use  of  the  public  in  the  towns  and  cities  in  the  vicinity  of 
Boston. 

1.  Some  Contradictory  Aspects  of  the  Metropolitan  Region . 

A stranger  looking  over  the  country  lying  within  ten  or 
twelve  miles  of  the  Boston  city  hall,  and  ignorant  of  the 


2 


METROPOLITAN  PARKS. 


[Jan. 


existence  of  the  political  boundaries  separating,  by  almost 
wholly  “ imaginary  lines,”  the  various  cities  and  towns  that 
make  up  one  of  the  densest  masses  of  population  to  be  found 
in  the  new  world  upon  an  area  of  like  extent,  would  be 
puzzled  to  account  for  certain  things  that  could  not  fail  to 
attract  his  attention.  He  would  see  what  appeared  to  be 
one  great  city  massed  around  the  shores  of  the  harbor  and 
along  the  banks  of  the  rivers  emptying  therein,  its  thousands 
of  buildings  spreading  irregularly  out  into  the  valleys  and 
over  the  hill  slopes  of  the  surrounding  country.  He  would 
see  this  great  city  occupying  a region  of  remarkable  and 
diversified  landscape  interest ; a bay  with  beautiful  shores 
and  numerous  islands  large  and  small,  a country  varied  with 
hills  and  fields,  woodland,  meadows,  lakes  and  streams. 
He  would  find  the  population  comprised  within  a consider- 
able segment  of  the  southerly  half  of  this  region  provided 
with  extensive  facilities  for  public  open-air  recreation ; 
an  admirably  devised  system  of  parks,  parkways  and 
boulevards,  public  gardens  and  playgrounds,  forming  con- 
tinuous chains  of  pleasure  ground,  or  sprinkled  liberally  over 
the  territory.  Throughout  the  rest  of  the  great  urban  area, 
with  few  exceptions,  he  would  see  almost  nothing  of  the 
kind.  He  would  behold  miles  and  miles  of  thickly  settled 
territory,  with  practically  not  a square  yard  of.  public  ground. 
He  would  naturally  wish  to  know  the  reason  for  this  remark- 
able contrast ; why  a certain  portion  of  the  population  should 
be  so  favored,  while  the  other  portions  were  entirely  without 
the  needed  facilities?  Wherefore  luxury  and  abundance  on 
one  side,  and  beyond  the  opposite  ? He  would  be  informed 
that  the  reason  was  that  the  favored  portion  of  the  population 
formed  one  municipality  by  itself,  and  by  the  concentration 
of  its  wealth  and  energy  thus  made  possible  had  been  enabled 
to  provide  for  its  own  needs ; while  the  rest  of  the  popu- 
lation, — comprising  nearly  one-half  of  the  entire  number  of 
inhabitants  occupying  the  region,  and  from  its  rate  of  growth 
soon  destined  to  comprise  much  the  larger  part  of  the 
whole,- — being  split  up  into  various  small  communities, 
divided  upon  political  and  not  natural  lines,  had  been  unable 
to  provide  for  its  needs  in  an  intelligent  manner,  and  thus 
was  in  danger  of  becoming  a vast  desert  of  houses,  factories 

O O 


1893.] 


HOUSE  — No.  150. 


3 


and  stores,  spreading  over  and  overwhelming  the  natural 
features  of  the  landscape,  as  lines  of  sand  dunes,  advancing 
from  the  seashore,  overwhelm  and  obliterate  the  woods  and 
fields.  The  creation  of  such  a human  desert,  relieved  by 
hardly  an  oasis,  is  threatened  upon  the  greater  part  of  this 
naturally  beautiful  region. 

2,  Peculiar  Political  Geography  of  the  Neighborhood 
of  Boston, 

The  exceptional  nature  of  this  densely  populated  and  rap- 
idly growing  section  of  the  Commonwealth  now  generally 
known  as  the  ‘ ‘ metropolitan  district  of  Boston  ” is  therefore 
seen  to  be  such  as  to  demand  a peculiar  method  of  treatment, 
under  legislation  framed  especially  for  the  purpose.  The 
excellent  legislative  provisions  that  have  from  time  to  time 
been  made  to  meet  the  necessities  of  the  various  communities 
of  the  Commonwealth  in  the  way  of  parks  and  other  open 
spaces  for  recreative  purposes  cannot  with  good  results  be 
applied  to  the  requirements  of  this  region.  With  few  excep- 
tions, the  other  cities  and  towns  of  the  State  are  each  clearly 
defined  social,  as  well  as  political,  entities.  Each  can  there- 
fore be  safely  left  to  look  out  for  itself  in  all  the  varied 
concerns  that  make  up  the  wants  of  a modern  community. 
The  State  has  but  to  grant  the  necessary  authority,  has  but 
to  provide  the  machinery  adapted  to  the  exercise  of  the 
respective  functions,  and  each  community  can  then  be  trusted 
to  meet  its  own  needs  as  they  arise. 

Quite  different  is  it  with  the  Boston  metropolitan  district. 
While  divided  by  political  lines  into  a large  number  of  cities 
and  towns,  socially  this  district  is,  to  all  intents  and  purposes, 
essentially  one  community.  It  must  therefore  be  considered 
such  when  questions  present  themselves  arising  from  the 
needs  developed  by  the  growth  of  such  a community.  For, 
if  the  various  cities  and  towns  forming  this  great  urban 
composite  are  in  the  future,  as  they  have  been  in  the  past, 
to  be  treated  separately,  these  needs  can  be  met  only  in  the 
most  unsatisfactory  manner,  and  in  a way  that  cannot  fail  to 
impede  the  healthy  growth  and  hamper  the  proper  develop- 
ment which  should  characterize  a community  of  this  class. 


4 


METROPOLITAN  PARKS. 


[Jan. 


It  is  evident  that  the  political  conformation  and  organiza- 
tion of  a community  should  be  governed  by  its  physical 
character.  When,  at  or  near  its  foundation,  an  important 
city  is  planned  with  foresight,  when  the  direction  which  its 
future  growth  is  to  take  becomes  clearly  evident,  we  may 
see  this  exemplified.  Cases  in  point  are  large  cities  in  the 
West,  like  Chicago  and  Minneapolis,  where  with  wise  fore- 
thought all  the  territory  that  appears  needful  for  the  natural 
expansion  of  those  cities  has  been  brought  under  one  juris- 
diction ; not  with  the  purpose,  as  has  been  asserted,  of 
figuring  up  a great  area  and  population,  but  in  order  that 
the  demands  of  the  future  may  be  met  in  the  best  possible 
manner  as  they  may  arise,  and  without  waste  of  energy  and 
money.  Our  national  capital  is  one  of  the  best  instances  of 
a great  city  planned  with  a view  to  its  growth  into  what  it 
has  now  become,  and  it  is  consequently  easier  to  provide  it 
with  the  equipment  necessary  for  a modern  municipality 
than  almost  any  other  centre  of  population. 

The  development  of  the  great  metropolitan  population  in 
and  about  the  present  city  of  Boston  has  proceeded  in  a quite 
different  manner.  A glance  at  the  map  is  sufficient  to  show 
us  how  it  is  cut  up  by  local  community  boundary  lines,  not 
only  without  the  least  regard  to  the  physical  character  of  the 
region,  but  almost,  it  would  seem,  in  wilful  disregard  of  such 
character. 

If  we  consider  for  a moment  the  history  of  the  growth 
of  this  great  population,  we  may  readily  understand  why  it 
is  that  things  have  taken  the  shape  that  they  now  wear. 
Boston,  from  earliest  days,  was  the  centre  of  the  colony. 
Abcut  it  all  political,  commercial  and  social  interests  were 
gathered.  To-day,  for  instance,  we  see  the  five  counties 
comprising  the  original  county  divisions  of  the  two  colonies 
of  Massachusetts  Bay  and  Plymouth  all  clustered  about  Bos- 
ton bay,  and  converging  thereupon  in  a way  that  may  be 
compared  to  slices  of  an  irregularly  divided  pie.  Before  the 
annexation  of  rural  municipalities  to  Boston  had  considerably 
changed  the  county  lines  these  slices  were  more  regular  in 
shape.  Then  Norfolk,  Middlesex  and  Essex,  in  particular, 
converged  around  the  few  hundred  acres  comprised  in  the 
county  of  Suffolk,  from  the  direction  of  three  of  the  four 


North  Reservoir,  ^Winchester. 


1893.] 


HOUSE  — No.  150. 


5 


quarters  of  the  compass ; the  bay,  with  Plymouth  County  to 
the  south  of  it,  occupying  the  fourth  quarter. 

The  local  community  boundaries,  as  at  present  constituted, 
are  no  less  irregular  than  the  county  lines.  The  crazy-quilt 
aspect  borne  by  a colored  map  of  the  metropolitan  district, 
showing,  in  contrasting  hues,  the  various  cities  and  towns 
composing  it,  is  something  that  must  strike  a resident  of 
more  westerly  portions  of  our  country,  where  regularly 
divided  township  areas  are  the  rule,  as  one  of  the  strangest 
absurdities  that  could  be  devised. 

3,  Disintegration  and  Reintegration  of  Communities  in  this 

Neighborhood. 

Down  to  the  present  time  the  process  by  which  this  map 
has  assumed  its  most  curious  and  unsymmetrical  aspect,  with 
one  exception,  that  of  the  city  of  Boston  itself,  has  been  one 
of  gradual  community-disintegration.  In  the  early  days  the 
colonization  of  this  portion  of  the  country  proceeded  from 
Boston  outwards  in  various  directions.  Small  clusters  of 
population  formed  themselves  here  and  there,  mainly  with 
reference  to  convenient  approaches  from  the  centre  either  by 
natural  roadways  through  the  valleys,  or  near  favorable 
landing  places  on  the  streams  and  along  the  shores  of  the 
bay.  These  communities  were,  for  the  most  part,  distinc- 
tively rustic  villages,  and  the  location  of  the  lands  round 
about  possessed  by  their  inhabitants  determined  the  character 
of  township  lines.  Even  the  populations  nearest  Boston, 
like  Cambridge,  Chelsea  and  Boxbury,  maintained  their 
rural  character  down  to  comparatively  recent  days,  and  so 
slight  were  the  transit  requirements  in  the  way  of  intercom- 
munication between  the  city  and  its  most  immediate  suburbs, 
that,  within  the  memory  of  people  yet  in  middle  life,  an 
hourly  omnibus  was  suffbient  to  meet  all  the  local  demands ; 
needs  for  which  all  the  hundreds  of  steam  railway  trains,  and 
the  electric  cars  that  congest  the  streets  of  Boston  to  their 
utmost  capacity,  are  no\t  inadequate. 

In  the  early  days  the  community  lines  were  much  simpler 
than  they  are  at  present.  The  various  townships  were  of 
large  extent,  and  correspondingly  few  in  number.  They 


6 


METROPOLITAN  PARKS. 


[Jan. 


included  town-like  clusters  of  population,  like  Lynn,  Charles- 
town and  Cambridge ; and  also  rustic  farming  hamlets,  of 
which  Lynn  Village,  now  Lynnfield,  and  Charlestown  Vil- 
lage, now  Woburn,  maybe  cited  as  representative  examples. 
As  these  outlying  villages  grew,  they  formed  natural  centres 
by  themselves,  and,  having  their  own  peculiar  local  require- 
ments, their  needs  bearing  little  relation  to  those  of  neighbor- 
ing communities,  — being  of  the  simplest  character  and 
confined  to  such  functions  as  schools,  public  worship  and 
care  of  highways,  together  with  looking  out  for  interests 
that,  for  the  most  part,  were  distinctively  agricultural,  — 
independent  local  government  became  desirable,  and  when 
sought  was  readily  granted. 

In  later  days  this  movement  of  disintegration  became 
accelerated  by  other  considerations,  such  as  situation  with 
reference  to  lines  of  railway,  differences  in  questions  of  local 
taxation,  etc.  Large  town  areas  have  been  split  up  into 
smaller  fragments.  Towns  have  been  divided  and  sub- 
divided. Out  of  Chelsea,  for  instance,  Revere  and  Winthrop 
have  been  created;  from  Malden  came  Melrose,  Stoneham 
and  Everett ; from  Charlestown  proceeded  Somerville, 
Woburn  and  Winchester;  from  Cambridge  were  carved 
Newton  and  Arlington;  Belmont  was  formed  from  West 
Cambridge  (Arlington)  and  Watertown;  from  Roxbury 
West  Roxbury  was  set  off;  from  Braintree,  Quincy,  Ran- 
dolph and  Holbrook ; and  Hyde  Park  has  been  formed  from 
portions  of  Milton,  West  Roxbury  and  Dedham.  Boston 
itself  in  the  early  days  yielded  to  this  disintegrating  pro- 
cess, Brookline  and  Chelsea  being  her  offspring. 

Thus  we  have  seen  portions  of  townships  becoming  villages, 
then  towns,  and  finally  cities,  until  in  Middlesex  County 
alone  we  now  have  six  separate  cities  immediately  adjoining 
Boston,  while  on  the  north  of  the  Charles  and  the  Mystic,  in 
Suffolk  and  Middlesex,  the  six  cities  of  Chelsea,  Everett, 
Malden,  Medford,  Somerville  and  Cambridge  form  one 
cluster  of  population  in  a manner  that  makes  it  impossible 
to  detect,  by  anything  that  external  characteristics  have  to 
tell,  where  one  municipality  leaves  off  and  another  begins. 
This  disintegrating  process  has  continued  down  almost  to  the 
present  time.  But,  so  far  as  the  metropolitan  district  is 


1893.] 


HOUSE  — No.  150. 


7 


concerned,  it  now  appears  to  be  definitely  checked ; the  last 
attempt  at  town  division,  that  of  separating  West  Medford 
from  Medford,  having  been  finally  and  conclusively  thwarted 
by  the  erection  of  Medford  into  a city. 

The  process  of  reintegration  began  in  the  earlier  half  of 
the  century.  It  has  been  confined  thus  far  to  the  city  of 
Boston,  to  which  South  Boston  and  Washington  Village,  in 
Dorchester,  were  first  joined ; Roxbury  came  next,  followed 
by  the  whole  of  Dorchester,  and  then  by  Charlestown,  West 
Roxbury  and  Brighton.  This  incomplete  process  has  given 
Boston  a most  peculiar  outline.  Upon  the  map  it  now  nearly 
encloses  the  town  of  Brookline  as  in  the  claws  of  a lobster, 
and  on  the  other  side  Newton,  in  Middlesex,  makes  of 
Brookline  a political  island,  cut  off  wholly  from  the  rest  of 
Norfolk  County,  to  which  it  belongs. 

These  various  divisions  and  subdivisions  have  resulted  in 
most  extraordinary  boundary  lines,  forming  all  sorts  of  zigzag 
effects.  To  account  for  the  eccentric  character  of  these 
would  be  most  puzzling  for  the  stranger  unacquainted  with 
the  circumstances  that  have  produced  them.  Conspicuous 
examples  of  these  remarkable  results  may  be  seen  in  the 
tongue,  or  “ panhandle,”  of  Quincy,  that  runs  up  between 
Braintree,  Randolph  and  Milton,  and  includes  a large  portion 
of  the  Blue  Hill  range  ; and  again,  in  the  little  piece  jutting 
up  in  the  north-west  corner  of  Malden,  thrust  between  Med- 
ford, Stoneham  and  Melrose,  in  the  Middlesex  Fells,  and 
occasioned  by  the  annexation  of  a strip  of  Medford  to  that 
place. 


4.  Difficulty  of  the  Municipal  Problem  here  involved. 

We  have,  therefore,  in  this  complexity  of  political  units 
comprised  in  the  metropolitan  district  of  Boston  a municipal 
problem  that  probably  contains  more  difficulties  in  the  way 
of  its  proper  solution  than  can  be  found  in  any  other  centre 
of  great  population  in  the  civilized  world  after  that  of 
London.  On  this  continent,  surely,  New  York  is  the  only 
other  metropolitan  aggregation  of  population  that  presents 
difficulties  anywhere  near  those  encountered  by  Boston.  In 


8 


METROPOLITAN  PARKS. 


[Jan. 


the  case  of  New  York,  however,  they  are  rendered  more 
easy  of  solution  by  the  lesser  number  of  political  communi- 
ties to  be  dealt  with,  while  that  portion  of  its  metropol- 
itan population  west  of  the  Hudson  must  necessarily  always 
remain  in  another  State,  as  a subject  for  entirely  separate 
treatment. 

If  it  were  possible  to  consolidate  all  the  various  political 
units  forming  this  great  metropolitan  community  under  one 
comprehensive  municipal  authority,  all  the  questions  affect- 
ing that  community  would  be  capable  of  easy  solution,  and 
would  not  require  any  method  of  procedure  radically  differ- 
ent from  those  concerning  other  cities  and  towns  in  the 
Commonwealth.  Such  a solution,  however  desirable  though 
it  might  seem  to  be,  appears,  for  the  present  at  least,  out  of 
the  question.  Important  problems,  nevertheless,  are  now 
presenting  themselves,  and,  if  they  are  not  speedily  dealt 
with  in  a way  that  will  yield  results  equal  to  what  might 
be  achieved  were  it  all  one  community,  politically  as  well 
as  physically,  serious  injury  to  the  interests  of  the  entire 
population  cannot  fail  to  follow. 

Manifestly  the  only  practical  way  to  deal  with  the  needs 
felt  in  common  by  this  cluster  of  politically  independent 
communities  is  either  to  construct  a new  political  entity  that 
shall  include  them  all,  while  perhaps  their  separate  local 
existence  is  still  maintained,  or  to  meet  these  demands 
directly  under  the  authority  of  the  Commonwealth  from 
which  they  derived  their  separate  existences. 

The  former  of  these  alternatives  seems  to  be  made  imprac- 
ticable for  some  time  to  come  by  the  separation  of  various 
sections  of  this  community  upon  county  as  well  as  local 
lines.  Relatively  unimportant  as  counties  are  in  the 
political  organization  of  New  England,  the  erection  of  a new 
county  to  include  the  whole  metropolitan  community,  as  has 
lately  been  done  in  the  case  of  London,  would  seem  hardly 
practicable  without  a radical'  reconstruction  of  the  entire 
county  system  of  the  Commonwealth. 

It  therefore  remains  to  meet  these  needs  directly  under 
the  authority  of  the  State.  One  of  these  needs  is  that 
under  immediate  consideration  and  it  is  one  which  cannot 
be  deferred  without  burdening  the  future  — ■ for  something 


Spot  Pond,  Stoneham. 


1893.] 


HOUSE  — No.  150. 


9 


which  sooner  or  later  certainly  must  be  done  — with  a very 
great  expense,  where  a relatively  small  outlay  would  now 
meet  the  requirements.  Not  only  this,  but  delay  would  pre- 
vent these  needs  from  being  supplied  in  any  but  a most 
incomplete  manner,  whereas  to-day  they  can  still  be  pro- 
vided for  in  a satisfactory  way. 


5.  Various  Needs  that  require  Consideration . 

This  problem  is  also  largely  one  of  sanitation,  but  having 
the  wider  scope  of  promoting  the  physical  and  moral  health 
of  the  community.  Nothing  appears  to  be  better  settled 
than  the  fact  that  a population  living  under  urban  conditions, 
amidst  the  incessant  activity,  the  noise,  the  confusion  and 
the  excitement  incident  to  city  life,  must,  for  the  main- 
tenance of  its  health  and  the  perpetuation  of  desirable  types 
of  humanity,  be  afforded  frequent  opportunities  for  the 
relaxation  of  the  strain  which  these  conditions  of  life  impose  ; 
and  these  opportunities  are  best  found  in  the  means  of  escape 
into  more  natural  and  agreeable  surroundings. 

Thereto  must  be  added  the  requirements  of  the  growing 
generations  in  the  shape  of  ample  playground  facilities, 
situated  within  convenient  distances  of  their  homes,  where 
sport  and  exercise  in  the  open  air  may  be  obtained,  develop- 
ing the  body  and  quickening  the  senses,  while  removing 
children  from  other  modes  of  amusement,  most  detrimental 
physically  and  morally.  Without  resources  of  this  kind 
the  suburban  movement  of  population,  which  has  been 
hailed  as  presenting  a complete  solution  to  the  tenement- 
house  and  other  crying  evils  common  to  a dense  population, 
would  by  no  means  prove  the  blessing  anticipated.  In  fact, 
it  would  furnish  only  a very  temporary  benefit. 

Through  lack  of  foresight  in  this  direction  there  are  already, 
as  we  have  seen,  well  settled  expanses  of  suburban  popula- 
tion, with  acres  and  acres  of  streets  and  houses  where  a few 
years  ago  were  pastures  and  woodland,  possessing  no  open 
spaces  whatever ; not  a square  foot  of  public  ground  outside 
of  school-house  yards  and  streets  belonging  to  the  cities  and 
towns  in  question. 


10 


METROPOLITAN  PARKS. 


[Jan. 


A few  years,  sooner  or  later,  will  witness  all  these  subur- 
ban tracts  completely  urbanized;  and,  unless  something  is 
done  in  the  near  future,  the  only  alternative  to  the  per- 
petuation of  a most  unhealthy  condition  for  these  districts 
will  be  the  clearing  away,  at  enormous  cost,  of  sufficient 
open  spaces  here  and  there  to  furnish  local  playgrounds,  as 
is  now  being  done  in  New  York  and  London. 

Preferable  to  a suburban  development  of  this  kind,  such 
as  the  now  rapidly  increasing  provision  of  transportation 
facilities  in  every  direction  is  causing,  without  a correspond- 
ing provision  for  open  spaces  to  meet  the  needs  of  this  move- 
ment of  population,  would  seem  a concentration  upon  compact 
areas  covered  with  dwellings  such  as  modern  science  and  art 
can  devise,  surrounding  small  squares  or  large  court-yards 
that  would  supply  playgrounds  combined  with  pleasant 
gardens.  However,  the  movement  of  population  suburban- 
wards  can  be  made  all  that  is  claimed  for  it  by  providing  in 
time  the  needed  breathing  spaces,  parks  and  playgrounds. 

A third  aspect  of  the  problem  is  one  which  is  more  strictly 
sanitative  in  character,  and  is  furnished  by  the  present  con- 
ditions of  the  streams  and  other  water  spaces,  to  prevent 
the  pollution  of  which  prompt  attention  and  treatment  is 
demanded.  It  would  seem  that  the  simplest,  cheapest  and 
most  effective  method  of  dealing  with  this  problem,  and 
therefore  the  most  practical,  is  furnished  by  combining  there- 
with the  recreative  purposes  which  a stream  and  its  shores 
can  usually  be  made  to  serve  in  most  abundant  measure. 


6.  Local  Jealousies,  a Bar  to  Satisfactory  Results . 

It  is  also  notoriously  the  case  that  cities  and  towns  small 
in  area  and  compact  in  population  are  apt  to  be  extremely 
concerned  lest  other  communities  profit  more  than,  or  even 
equally  with,  themselves  by  improvements  of  this  kind  which 
they  undertake.  They  are  likely  to  be  governed  in  the 
location  of  their  pleasure  grounds  not  so  much  by  considera- 
tions of  fitness  in  the  selection  of  site  as  by  the  relation 
which  it  shall  bear  to  the  centre  of  population.  Hence  a 
site  most  admirably  adapted  for  the  purpose,  but  lying 


1893.] 


HOUSE  — No.  150. 


11 


near  the  boundary  line,  would  in  all  probability  be  passed 
by  in  favor  of  some  much  inferior  location,  solely  for  fear 
that  inhabitants  of  an  adjacent  community  might  profit 
by  it. 

Very  fortunately,  Boston  itself  has  not  been  guided  by 
such  petty  considerations  in  the  creation  of  its  noble  park 
system.  But  with  the  small  communities  these  considerations 
are  almost  sure  to  prevail.  And  whenever  a most  suitable  site 
for  the  pleasure  ground  of  any  particular  community  chances 
to  lie  across  the  boundary  in  another  town,  but  so  remote 
from  the  centre  of  that  town’s  population  as  to  be  of  much 
less  value  to  the  latter,  the  community  most  interested  has 
under  present  conditions  no  authority  to  establish  such  a 
pleasure  ground  beyond  its  own  bounds.  By  treating  the 
entire  territory,  however,  as  a unit  for  this  purpose,  the 
sense  of  a community  of  interest  is  developed.  Consequently 
local  jealousies  are  largely  allayed,  and  the  chief  obstacles  in 
the  way  of  the  adoption  of  a comprehensive  system,  which 
shall  be  of  equal  value  to  the  entire  community,  are  removed. 

A case  in  point  is  presented  by  the  beautiful  spot  in 
Cambridge  known  as  “ Norton’s  Woods,”  where  a vestige  of 
the  original  charm  of  aspect  once  worn  by  the  entire 
countryside  round  about  fortunately  yet  remains,  — the  only 
oasis  in  a great  urban  desert  that  now  stretches  westward 
nearly  to  the  Waverley  Oaks.  Its  kindly  proprietor  has 
long  allowed  its  use  as  a pleasure  ground  to  a considerable 
extent  by  people  in  the  vicinity,  — a boon  that  is  much 
appreciated.  The  idea  of  a public  park  here  has  been  much 
discussed,  and  there  appears  to  be  a general  agreement  as  to 
its  desirability.  In  the  near  neighborhood,  on  the  Somer- 
ville side  of  the  line,  there  are  many  humble  homes,  and  an 
open  space  here  would  be  a great  blessing.  So  closely  are 
the  populations  of  the  two  cities  merged  that  no  line  of 
demarcation  is  evident.  It  seems  all  one  city.  But  Cam- 
bridge, as  a municipality,  cannot  be  induced  to  take  an 
interest  in  the  proposition,  mainly  for  the  reason  that 
apparently  Somerville  will  profit  most  by  it ; while  Somer- 
ville would  probably  not  be  disposed  to  establish  a pleasure 
ground  for  her  people  just  beyond  her  borders,  even  if  she 
had  the  right  so  to  do. 


12 


METROPOLITAN  PARKS, 


[Jan. 


7.  Drafts  upon  Local  Resources  through  Rapid  Growth  an 
Impediment  to  Proper  Dealing  with  this  Question . 

One  of  the  greatest  obstacles,  and  the  one  perhaps  the 
most  difficult  to  be  overcome,  in  the  way  of  realizing,  under 
the  initiative  of  the  respective  communities,  the  establish- 
ment of  the  desired  open  spaces  throughout  the  district, 
is  the  fact  that  in  most  cases  their  resources  are  strained  to 
the  utmost  extent  to  meet  the  demands  imposed  by  their 
rapid  increase  in  population.  The  overflow  of  Boston  into 
the  surrounding  country,  the  attractions  of  cheap  lands  and 
the  consequent  facilities  for  the  building  of  low-priced  houses 
in  the  suburban  districts,  has  caused  these  various  com- 
munities to  fill  up  rapidly  with  a population  composed  of 
persons,  for  the  most  part,  in  very  moderate  circumstances. 
Therefore,  in  many  of  these  suburban  cities  and  towns  the 
increase  in  valuation  has  not  been  at  all  commensurate  with 
the  increase  of  population.  The  demands  thereby  made 
upon  them  for  facilities  to  meet  the  necessities  of  this  extraor- 
dinarily rapid  growth  have  been  in  excess  of  the  resources 
available  to  satisfy  the  demands,  and  on  nearly  every  side 
complaint  is  made  of  a growing  burden  of  taxation  in  con- 
sequence. The  suburban  communities  find  themselves 
obliged  to  incur  great  expenditures  for  the  erection  of  new 
school-houses,  for  the  laying  out  of  new  ’streets  and  building 
of  sidewalks,  for  the  extension  of  water-supply  service,  for 
the  construction  of  sewers,  etc.  All  these  appear  absolutely 
necessary,  and  the  people  are  continually  clamoring  for 
them . 

The  importance  of  assuring  the  continued  attractiveness 
of  these  suburban  localities,  of  making  them  permanently 
agreeable  localities  for  the  abiding  places  of  a desirable  class 
of  population,  is  thereby  apt  to  be  overlooked. 

The  average  short-sightedness  is  too  often  such  that  people 
do  not  consider  that  the  charms  that  make  many  of  our 
suburbs  the  pleasant  dwelling-places  that  they  now  are  — 
namely,  the  various  rural  attractions  existing  in  their  midst 
or  in  their  near  neighborhoods  — must  for  the  most  part 
certainly  disappear  as  with  the  growth  of  population  the 
character  of  these  localities  becomes  more  and  more  urban. 


■J  / . 


East  Shore  of  Lake  Quannapowitt,  Wakefield.  After  a photograph  by  E.  U.  Gleason. 


1893.] 


HOUSE  — No.  150. 


13 


They  are,  however,  liable  some  day  to  awake  suddenly  to 
the  unpleasant  consciousness  that  their  charm  has  vanished. 

Local  breathing-spaces,  and  the  existence  of  pleasant 
features  of  natural  scenery  in  the  neighborhood,  are  really 
as  essential  to  the  moral  and  physical  health  of  a community 
as  the  more  absolutely  utilitarian  improvements  that  are 
usually  given  the  precedence.  But,  as  we  have  seen,  the 
extraordinary  drain  upon  the  resources  of  our  communities 
is  mostly  such  that  they  either  will  not  or  cannot  do  any- 
thing in  this  direction. 

The  only  practical  way,  therefore,  to  deal  with  this  subject 
appears  to  be  by  a metropolitan  method  of  procedure,  and  in  a 
manner  that  will  relieve  the  individual  communities  from  the 
pressure  upon  their  resources  which  they  otherwise  would 
have  to  endure  in  order  to  accomplish  anything  of  any 
account  in  this  direction. 

IT. 

The  Logical  Method  of  solving  this  Problem. 

Boston  has,  until  very  lately,  grown  in  a most  accidental 
and  hap-hazard  way.  It  has  cost  the  city  more  to  undo  the 
mistakes  perpetrated  through  the  short-sightedness  of  former 
generations  than  it  has  to  provide  for  its  legitimate  growth. 
It  is,  therefore,  time  for  it  to  grow  intelligently,  and  to 
proceed  along  carefully  considered  lines  of  development. 
These  lines  have  already  been  laid  down,  or  are  now  being 
laid  down,  in  several  important  directions,  and  their  extension 
in  others  is  thereby  made  all  the  more  desirable. 

1.  The  Best  Instrumentality  for  securing  the  Desired  Ends. 

The  instrumentality  for  securing  the  establishment  of  the 

various  open  spaces  desired  under  the  control  of  a Metro- 
politan Parks  Commission  would  seem  to  be  most  easily, 
systematically  and  economically  provided  under  the  so-called 
‘1 * *  4 Australian  method,”  which  within  the  past  few  years  has 
been  applied  in  other  directions  with  most  excellent  results. 

Fortunately  a precedent  has  lately  been  furnished  which 


14 


METROPOLITAN  PARKS. 


[Jan. 


very  clearly  points  out  the  way  that  should  be  followed  in 
dealing  with  the  problem.  The  metropolitan  sewerage  act 
has  met  the  needs  of  this  large  territory  in  a very  satis- 
factory manner.  The  machinery  necessary  to  supply  the 
need  under  consideration  should  follow  very  similar  lines. 
That  is,  for  the  Commonwealth  to  lend  its  credit,  to  a 
certain  specified  amount,  in  the  shape  of  a loan,  for  which 
reimbursement  will  be  obtained  from  the  various  commu- 
nities forming  the  metropolitan  district.  By  this  means, 
while  the  Commonwealth  is  put  to  no  expense  in  thus  advanc- 
ing its  credit,  the  procedure  is  made  an  easy  one  for  the 
communities.  The  payments  being  so  distributed  over  a 
long  term  of  years,  an  excessive  taxation  is  not  imposed,  and 
the  burden  therefore  weighs  but  lightly  upon  any  one  com- 
munity. Moreover,  the  credit  of  the  Commonwealth  enables 
the  money  to  be  obtained  at  much  lower  rates  than  the 
communities  themselves  could  hope  to  obtain  advantage  of, 
making  a net  saving  of  something  like  one  per  cent,  in 
interest. 

A loan  of  one  million  dollars,  secured  upon  such  terms,  — 
together  with  what  may  be  looked  for  in  the  way  of  local 
co-operation  and  of  private  beneficence,  induced  by  the 
policy  of  consultation  and  encouragement  in  relation  to  local 
authorities  and  individuals  which  a Metropolitan  Parks  Com- 
mission would  be  enabled  to  pursue, — -the  most  important 
landscape  features  that  have  been  under  consideration 
throughout  the  metropolitan  district  could  be  permanently 
reserved  for  the  benefit  of  the  public. 

These  features,  in  brief,  may  be  specified  as  follows  : — 

1 . At  least  one  of  the  important  islands  of  the  hay  that 
still  remain  as  private  property . 

2.  Permanent  rights  for  the  public  in  the  shore  at  Revere 

Beach. 

3.  The  Snake  Creek  Valley , lying  on  the  borders  of 
Chelsea  and  Revere. 

4.  A sufficient  amount  of  territory  in  the  Middlesex  Fells 
region , lying  within  the  limits  of  Malden , Medford , Melrose , 
Stoneham  and  Winchester , to  make  one  large  public  forest 
reservation  in  that  most  important  and  desirable  locality , in 
connection  with  what  has  already  been  set  apart  by  the  various 


1893.] 


HOUSE  — No.  150 


15 


Municipal  Boundaries  in  the  Neighborhood  of  Boston. 


16  METROPOLITAN  PARKS.  [Jan. 

neighboring  communities  for  water  supply  and  recreative 
purposes. 

5.  A reservation  near  the  Mystic  River , in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  the  creek  known  as  Island  End  River  in  Everett  and 
Chelsea , including  marshland  and  upland,  capable  of  becoming 
of  great  importance  for  recreative  purposes  to  both  of  those 
cities , as  well  as  to  Boston,  ivhose  Charlestown  district  lies 
close  at  hand. 

6.  The  wild  tract  lying  within  the  limits  of  the  West 
Roxbury  district  of  Boston  and  the  town  of  Hyde  Bark, 
known  as  “ the  Muddy  Pond  woods! 

7.  The  Blue  Hills  range  in  Milton,  Quincy,  Canton  and 
Braintree,  with  adjacent  wild  lands  and  lake  country  to  the 
southward,  as  a mountain-like  public  forest. 

From  a consideration  of  assessed  valuations  in  the  various 
portions  of  the  metropolitan  district,  it  is  fair  to  estimate 
that  it  will  be  possible  to  secure  these  various  features  for 
a total  amount  which  will  leave  a large  sum  to  be  applied 
to  other  important  purposes  that  have  been  mentioned,  such 
as  the  securing  of  land  and  rights  along  the  Charles  River, 
which  will  guard  that  stream  forever  against  the  dangers 
arising  from  the  pollution  to  which  it  is  now  subjected,  and 
also  to  pursue  a similar  course  in  relation  to  tne  valleys  of 
the  Neponset  and  Mystic  rivers. 

Assurances  of  generous  co-operation  have  also  been  re- 
ceived from  various  individuals  of  public  spirit  and  of  large 
means  which  will  be  likely  to  bring  about  the  reservation  of 
other  important  and  very  desirable  features  of  landscape 
interest,  notable  both  for  their  remarkable  picturesque  qual- 
ities and  for  their  historic  associations.  In  this  connection 
may  be  mentioned  such  localities  as  the  Waverley  Oaks,  on 
the  borders  of  Waltham  and  Belmont,  the  charming  region 
of  Pranker’s  Pond  in  Saugus  that  includes  the  historic  feat- 
ure known  as  “ Appleton’s  Pulpit,”  and  a long  and  beautiful 
stretch  of  the  shores  of  the  Charles  River  in  Weston. 

The  question  of  purely  local  pleasure  grounds,  ranging  in 
size  from  an  acre  or  less  to  a few  acres  in  extent,  serving  as 
“breathing  spots,”  out-door  resting  places  and  playgrounds 
for  their  immediate  neighborhoods,  and  which  consequently 
demand  to  be  located  at  very  frequent  intervals  throughout 


r n 


One  of  the  Malden  Cljffis. 


1893.] 


HOUSE  — No.  150. 


17 


an  urban  population,  is  one  of  the  most  important  under 
consideration.  It,  however,  involves  different  problems, 
demands  a different  form  of  treatment,  and  therefore  must 
be  considered  separately  from  the  other  classes  of  reservations, 
that  comprise  features  more  or  less  connected  with  each  other. 

2.  Cost  of  Acquiring  the  Proposed  Lands.  — Aid  from 
Private  Beneficence. 

If  these  sites  are  not  now  secured,  their  destruction  at  no 
remote  day  is  sure.  Even  though  in  some  of  these  instances 
the  land  might  remain  comparatively  unoccupied  for  years 
to  come,  their  present  attractive  character  would  be  certain 
to  disappear.  Observations  made  in  all  parts  of  the  metro- 
politan district  lead  to  these  conclusions.  The  land  would, 
in  many  cases  perhaps,  remain  cheap.  But  it  should  be  re- 
membered that  cheap  lands,  when  of  a picturesque  character, 
are  costly  to  develop  in  the  proper  manner  for  residence 
purposes.  Yet  their  very  cheapness  makes  them  a continuous 
temptation  for  improper  and  undesirable  occupation.  So 
that  when  at  last  the  time  came  imperatively  requiring 
something  to  be  done  for  meeting  the  needs  of  the  great 
population,  the  sites  would  nearly,  if  not  quite,  have  lost 
all  of  their  present  attractiveness.  While  they  might  remain 
cheap,  they  would  certainly  have  become  nasty.  That  such 
a fate  would  be  sure  to  overtake  them  is  predicated  by  the 
experiences  of  Boston  in  the  creation  of  some  of  the  most 
essential  features  of  its  park  system,  the  cost  of  which, 
through  neglect  to  take  up  the  problem  in  time,  has  been 
enormously  increased. 

The  cost  of  obtaining  the  various  reservations  suggested 
will  be  comparatively  small,  in  view  of  the  amount  of 
territory  obtained  and  its  extreme  desirability  for  recreative 
purposes.  Beside  what  would  be  obtained  by  purchase, 
several  important  features  of  the  system  under  consideration 
can  unquestionably  be  secured  through  the  generosity  of 
citizens  of  wealth  and  public  spirit. 

From  estimates  upon  the  averages  of  assessed  valuations, 
it  is  reasonable  to  conclude  that  an  expenditure  of  one  mil- 
lion dollars,  together  with  what  might  be  looked  for  from 


IS 


METROPOLITAN  PARKS. 


[Jan. 


private  beneficence,  will  secure  the  reservation  of  the  most 
important  of  the  sites  that  have  been  considered,  amounting 
in  the  aggregate  to  several  thousand  acres. 

This  expenditure  is  trivial  in  comparison  with  the  cost  of 
constructing  a single  fort  or  mortar  battery  on  the  shores 
of  the  bay,  or  a ship  of  war,  or  even  a new  court-house 
or  city  hall ; while  the  benefits  received  are  incomparable  in 
comparison.  The  national  government  is  now  going  to  an 
enormous  expense  for  the  construction  of  fortifications  for 
harbor  defence.  This  expenditure  within  the  limits  of  a 
single  small  town  on  Boston  bay  amounts  to  something  like 
two  and  one-half  million  dollars.  A million  dollars  is  a 
small  sum  for  the  construction  of  the  average  modern  ship 
(of  war.  In  both  of  these  cases  it  is  doubtful  if  the  object 
cof  such  outlays  would  ever  be  of  direct  utility.  Probably 
;no  hostile  shot  will  ever  be  fired  from  the  fortifications, 
Land  never  would  the  war-ship  know  the  smoke  of  battle. 
So  rapid  is  progress  in  the  arts  of  war  to-day,  that  the  ship 
becomes  unserviceable  for  its  intended  purpose  in  the  course 
of  a few  years. 

Even  the  costliest  municipal  edifices,  well  as  they  may 
serve  their  purposes,  sooner  or  later  fall  into  ruin.  They 
begin  to  deteriorate  at  the  very  start ; and,  though  they  may 
remain  as  architectural  monuments  for  one  or  two  centuries, 
their  duration  is  as  naught  in  comparison  with  that  of  the 
public  pleasure  ground,  whose  beauty  increases,  whose  value 
augments,  as  the  years  go  on. 

It  therefore  seems  of  prime  importance  that  these  reser- 
vations should  be  secured.  Their  development  could  then 
safely  be  left  to  a future  time*  and  would  be  effected  by 
degrees. 


3 . Sanitary  Improvements  promoted  by  Recreative  Treat- 
ment. — Protecting  Water  Supplies. 

Another  class  of  reservations  thin  those  required  more 
strictly  for  recreative  purposes  is  comprised  in  those  con- 
nected with  questions  of  health  and  drainage.  These  are  to 
be  regarded  as  perhaps  first  in  pressing  importance,  but  they 
involve  problems  of  a more  extended  and  intricate  nature. 


1893.] 


HOUSE  — Xo.  150. 


19 


The  Charles  River  and  the  valleys  of  the  Neponset  and 
Mystic  are  the  most  prominent  of  these,  involving  engineer- 
ing problems  more  or  less  complex,  which  can  only  be  dealt 
with  properly  by  a Metropolitan  Parks  Commission,  acting 
in  concurrence  with  the  State  and  local  boards  of  health. 

Of  these  three  river  valleys  the  Charles  appears  to  be 
the  one  most  immediately  demanding  attention.  The  Bos- 
ton Park  Board  found  itself  called  upon  to  deal  with  a very 
similar  problem  in  the  matter  of  the  Back  Bay  Fens  and  the 
valley  of  the  Muddy  River,  which  involved  two  great  drain- 
age undertakings  whose  neglect  was  threatening  the  very 
existence  of  the  Back  Bay  section  of  Boston  and  a large 
portion  of  the  town  of  Brookline  as  desirable  places  of 
residence.  Through  the  skill  and  taste  of  the  engineering 
and  landscape  experts  employed,  it  was  found  that  the 
cheapest  and  most  effective  manner  of  dealing  with  these 
questions  was  through  their  development  as  portions  of  a 
grand  parkway,  thereby  serving  a valuable  recreative  as  well 
as  sanitary  purpose.  The  Charles  River  can  in  a similar  way 
be  most  effectively,  permanently  and  cheaply  treated,  meet- 
ing recreative  ends  to  a great  extent. 

A third  class  of  public  open  spaces  are  those  that  mainly 
serve  to  augment  and  protect  a water  supply.  It  is  often 
essential  that  a considerable  tract  of  land  should  be  taken 
for  the  purpose  of  guarding  a water  supply  against  pollu- 
tion. The  conditions  under  which  such  a tract  must  be 
maintained  to  serve  best  its  purpose  — free  from  human 
occupancy  and  kept  in  as  natural  a condition  as  possible, 
for  the  most  part  covered  with  a varied  forest-growth,  and 
including  storage  basins  of  a lake-like  character  — are  such 
as  often  to  adapt  the  territory  also  to  purposes  of  recreation. 
Of  such  a type  is  a large  proportion  of  the  Lynn  woods,  the 
beautiful  territory  of  more  than  two  thousand  acres  reserved 
for  public  purposes  by  the  joint  action  of  the  park  and  water 
boards  of  that  city.  In  the  Middlesex  Fells,  also,  there  are 
extensive  water  supply  reservations,  and  again  others  exist 
at  various  points  along  the  Charles  River,  while  to  the  south- 
ward of  the  Blue  Hills  lie  the  sources  of  the  water  supplies 
of  Quincy,  Braintree  and  other  communities  in  that  section. 
To  guard  these  sources  from  pollution,  it  is  essential  that 


20 


METROPOLITAN  PARKS. 


[Jan. 


considerable  tracts  should  be  kept  free  from  all  danger  of 
harmful  occupation.  Therefore,  in  securing  lands  for  rec- 
reative purposes  in  the  various  directions  that  have  been 
under  consideration,  the  needs  of  the  communities  for  water 
supply  will  to  a large  extent  naturally  enter  into  account, 
and  a co-operation  between  the  water  boards  and  a Metro- 
politan Parks  Commission  is  likely  in  many  cases  to  be  desir- 
able and  of  mutual  service. 


4 . Constituent  Communities  of  the  Metropolitan  District . 

In  regard  to  the  cities  and  towns  which  should  com- 
prise the  metropolitan  district,  it  will  necessarily  be  a 
matter  of  considerable  difficulty  to  decide  as  to  just 
what  communities  should  be  included.  This  difficulty 
arises  more  especially  in  relation  to  the  outer  fringe  of 
communities.  It  is  evident  that  distance  alone  does  not 
form  a decisive  factor  so  much  as  does  the  way  in  which  the 
individual  community  is  involved  with  the  rest  of  the  district, 
either  socially  or  geographically.  A circle  drawn  with  a 
radius  of  eleven  miles  from  the  Boston  city  hall  will  touch 
practically  every  city  and  town  which  it  seems  desirable  to 
include,  while  perhaps  one  or  two  towns  thus  touched  are,  by 
their  isolated  character,  not  in  any  way  connected  with  the 
interests  of  such  a district.  As  to  the  extreme  limits,  a circle 
with  a radius  of  fifteen  miles  would  include  the  territory  of 
all  the  communities  which  enter  within  the  circle  of  eleven 
miles  radius. 

Some  of  these  communities  on  the  outer  fringe  should  be 
included  simply  because  certain  landscape  features  that  are 
essential  to  the  proposed  system  in  its  completeness  lie  par- 
tially within  their  .limits.  Their  interest  in  such  a system  as 
communities,  however,  would  be  relatively  slight  for  many 
years  to  come,  and  for  the  most  part  the  communities  on  the 
outer  fringe  would  naturally  be  expected  to  bear  little  or  no 
share  of  the  expense  when  the  apportionment  according  to 
benefit  is  made. 

Other  communities  should  also  be  included,  not  that  any 
of  the  main  features  that  have  been  considered  lie  within 
their  limits,  but  because  they  possess  interesting  and  impor- 


r 


A.  Crag  near  the  Bear’s  Den,  Malden 

After  a photograph  by  Francis  W.  Morandi. 


1893.] 


HOUSE  — No.  150. 


21 


tant  landscape  characteristics  of  their  own,  capable  of 
becoming  of  great  interest  and  value  to  the  rest  of  the  metro- 
politan community,  and  which,  therefore,  under  the  policy 
of  consultation  and  encouragement  which  the  proposed  com- 
mission would  be  expected  to  adopt  in  relation  to  the  needs 
of  the  various  communities,  might  be'  made  of  much  greater 
account,  and  therefore  developed  in  a far  more  effective  way, 
than  would  be  the  case  were  these  communities  to  remain 
outside.  Their  share  of  the  cost  of  a metropolitan  system 
would  for  an  indefinite  period  likewise  remain  extremely 
slight. 

The  city  of  Lynn,  for  instance,  has  most  commendably 
provided  itself  with  one  of  the  largest  public  pleasure 
grounds  belonging  to  any  city  in  the  United  States,  and  has 
adopted  a wise  and  far-seeing  policy  in  the  establishment  of 
other  grounds  for  recreative  purposes.  If  this  were  the  only 
factor  in  the  case,  there  would  be  little  call  for  including  that 
city  within  the  district.  But,  bearing  in  mind  the  principle 
of  consultation  and  encouragement,  it  may  be  seen  that  Lynn 
would  be  a very  important  factor,  and  ultimately  capable  of 
gaining  much  through  the  development  of  its  own  admirable 
park  system  in  harmony  with  the  other  metropolitan  features. 
Its  proportion  of  the  expense  of  a metropolitan  system,  how- 
ever, would  naturally  be  small. 

The  towns  of  Nahant,  Swampscott  and  Saugus,  adjacent 
to  Lynn,  are  included  for  similar  reasons.  Nahant  possesses 
two  magnificent  beaches,  which  form  almost  the  only  stretch 
of  ocean  shore  of  any  considerable  extent  near  Boston 
that  is  now  public  ground ; Swampscott,  as  a population,  is 
in  unbroken  continuity  with  Lynn,  and  practically  forms  a 
portion  of  the  same,  while  it  contains  some  of  the  most 
charming  stretches  of  seashore  in  this  part  of  the  world ; 
Saugus  is  likewise  intimately  connected  with  Lynn,  and 
possesses  landscape  features  of  exceptional  attractiveness, 
the  reservation  of  which  it  is  desirable  to  brino*  about  so  far 

O 

as  possible. 

Of  other  communities  to  the  northward,  Wakefield  and 
Woburn  may  be  placed  in  a like  category.  To  the  westward 
and  southward,  Weston,  Wellesley,  Needham  and  Dedham 
lie  upon  the  outer  fringe  of  the  district,  and  are  included 


22 


METROPOLITAN  PARKS. 


[Jan. 


solely  because  of  the  relations  which  they  bear  to  the  Charles 
River,  all  of  which,  in  its  course  from  Dedham  down  to  the 
sea,  it  is  important  should  be  made  a subject  of  metropolitan 
control. 

The  towns  of  Canton  and  Braintree  should  be  included  o \ 
account  of  the  Blue  Hill  territory,  important  portions  of 
which  lie  within  their  limits. 

Two  other  places,  Weymouth  and  Hingham,  must  be 
included  solely  as  being  shore  towns,  and  on  account  of 
problems  which  may  arise  in  relation  to  the  borders  of  the 
bay,  some  of  the  most  beautiful  portions  of  which  lie  within 
their  bounds.  It  is  also  highly  desirable  that  Hull  should 
form  a portion  of  the  district,  because  of  Nantasket  beach, 
one  of  the  most  popular  and  important  shore  resorts  for  the 
people  of  Boston,  and  also  because  some  of  the  principal 
islands  in  the  bay  are  portions  of  this  town. 

III. 

Special  Advantages  that  will  follow  the  Adoption 

of  this  Plan. 

In  considering  the  stake  which  Boston  itself  has  in  the 
establishment  of  such  a metropolitan  park  system,  notwith- 
standing so  much  has  been  done  wdthin  its  own  limits,  the 
same  factor  of  a community  of  interests  appears.  In  the 
first  report  of  the  Boston  Park  Commissioners,  written  by 
Mr.  Charles  H.  Dalton,  regret  was  expressed  that  the  com- 
mission could  not  go  beyond  the  limits  of  the  city  for  the 
establishment  of  certain  desirable  features  of  its  park  sys- 
tem. The  city  of  New  York  a few  years  ago  acquired  one 
of  its  largest  and  finest  park  sites  outside  of  its  own  limits, 
on  the  shore  of  Long  Island  Sound,  in  the  town  of  Pelham, 
in  Westchester  County.  London  has  gone  far  beyond  its 
bounds  in  establishing  some  of  its  recent  parks,  and  the 
great  reservation  of  Epping  Forest  was  restored  to  public 
use  through  the  exertions  of  the  corporation  of  the  city  of 
London.  Burnham  Beeches,  a favorite  park  of  the  people 
of  the  British  metropolis,  also  established  by  the  same  cor- 
poration, lies  much  farther  to  the  westward  of  London’s 


1893.] 


HOUSE  — No.  150. 


23 


centre  of  population  than  Framingham  does  from  Boston. 
Following  this  analogy,  we  may  look  forward  to  the  time 
when  the  extensive  reservations  of  the  Boston  water  board 
about  the  Sudbury  Kiver  basins,  occupying  a very  beautiful 
country,  will  be  of  valuable  service  as  pleasure  grounds 
for  the  people  of  metropolitan  Boston.  The  South  Park 
system  of  Chicago  was  originally  established  to  a great 
extent  outside  the  city  limits  in  the  towns  of  Lake  and  Hyde 
Park,  recently  merged  in  the  enlarged  city. 

1.  Direct  Value  of  an  Attractive  Environment  to  Boston . 

There  are,  therefore,  good  reasons  wdiy  Boston  should  bear 
its  proportion  of  the  cost  of  acquiring  these  metropolitan 
reservations. 

Not  only  is  this  proposed  action  of  great  value  to  Boston 
in  securing  desirable  sites  for  such  pleasure  grounds  in  all 
directions  about  the  city  for  the  benefit  of  its  teeming  and 
rapidly  increasing  population,  but  it  is  of  equal  value  in 
assuring  the  permanence  and  increase  of  one  of  the  most 
essential  elements  of  the  city’s  present  and  future  develop- 
ment ; that  is,  its  attractiveness  as  a great  and  thoroughly 
equipped  social  centre. 

The  number  of  persons  drawn  to  Boston  by  its  general 
advantages  in  the  way  of  a beautiful  and  well-cared-for 
modern  capital  — its  educational  facilities,  its  music,  its 
museums,  its  artistic  character  and  its  beautiful  suburban 
and  rural  surroundings  — is  enormous.  The  numbers  in- 
crease extensively  year  by  year,  and  this  forms  one  of  the 
chief  elements  in  a city’s  growth  in  desirable  population  and 
in  its  marvellously  augmenting  prosperity. 

It  is  therefore  essential  that  these  elements  of  attractive- 
ness should  be  maintained  and  enhanced,  and  their  perma- 
nence assured.  Many  of  these  picturesque  and  beautiful  sites 
in  the  surrounding  country  form  features  by  no  means  slight 
among  these  elements  of  attractiveness.  Hence  it  seems 
important  that  these  various  tracts  should  be  immediately 
acquired,  for  the  reason  that  all  of  them  can  now  be  secured 
at  comparatively  small  cost,  and  all  would  be  for  the  com- 
mon benefit  of  the  metropolitan  district. 


24 


METROPOLITAN  PARKS. 


[Jan. 


2.  Advantages  accruing  to  Local  Communities  from  Pleasure 
Grounds  begond  their  Limits . 

It  has  been  made  evident  that  the  interests  of  these  various 
cities  and  towns  are,  for  the  various  general  purposes  for  which 
public  services  are  performed,  identical.  The  physical  con- 
formation of  the  territory  also  requires  that  in  this  matter 
of  providing  the  needed  open  spaces  for  recreative  and 
sanitary  purposes,  such  a unitary  policy  should  be  adopted. 
Not  only  are  the  various  features  that  thus  demand  con- 
sideration from  a metropolitan  point  of  view  in  most 
instances  contained  within  the  limits  of  several  cities  and 
towns,  but  interesting  sites  which  are  of  particular  value  to 
the  inhabitants  of  one  community  are,  as  likely  as  not,  apt 
to  be  situated  beyond  the  limits  of  that  community. 

The  interests  of  a city  or  town  in  this  respect  can  therefore 
not  be  centred  upon  any  particular  locality  within  its  own 
limits,  except  from  the  one  sordid  point  of  view  of  improv- 
ing the  assessable  value  of  real  estate.  And  even  here  this 
limitation  cannot  be  strictly  made,  for  the  desirability  of  a 
community  as  a place  of  residence,  and  therefore  the  value 
of  real  property  there,  is  often  determined,  to  a considerable 
extent,  by  the  landscape  features  lying  outside  of  its  own 
limits. 

For  instance,  the  town  of  Brookline,  which  is  one  of  the 
most  prosperous  and  best  equipped  communities  in  the 
Commonwealth,  owes  much  of  its  attractiveness  to  the  fact 
that  the  public  pleasure  grounds  of  Boston  lie  in  its  near 
neighborhood,  including  such  features  as  Franklin  Park,  the 
Arnold  Arboretum,  the  beautiful  driveway  around  the  Chest- 
nut Hill  Reservoir,  and  Jamaica  Pond  and  its  shores, —a 
system  of  improvements  upon  which  Boston  has  expended 
millions  of  dollars,  but  which,  enjoyed  by  the  inhabitants  of 
neighboring  cities  and  towns  without  cost  to  themselves, 
form  for  the  people  of  Brookline  in  particular  favorite  resorts 
in  their  drives  and  rides. 

The  same  will  hold  true  in  regard  to  the  various  other 
grounds  that  may  be  established  in  various  parts  of  the  met- 
ropolitan district.  They  will  be  of  value  not  only  to  the 
cities  and  towns  wherein  they  are  located,  but  also  to  all 
the  communities  round  about. 


\ 


Cascade  near  Tells  Station,  Melrose.  After  a photograph  by  George  H.  Davenport. 


1893.] 


HOUSE  — No.  150. 


25 


PART  SECOND. 


I. 

An  Examination  of  the  Separate  Features  under 
Consideration. 

The  investigations  of  the  commission  have  included  per- 
sonal examinations  of  the  various  features  throughout  the 
metropolitan  district  that  have  been  suggested  as  adapted  to 
form  a part  of  a general  system  of  open  spaces  for  public 
recreation  and  the  promotion  of  health.  In  making  the 
trips  necessary  to  these  examinations,  the  board  has  been 
accompanied  by  members  of  the  local  park  commissions  or 
committees  and  other  local  officials,  together  with  citizens 
interested  in  the  subject.  The  commissioners  have  thus 
been  enabled  to  ascertain,  to  a great  degree,  the  local  senti- 
ment in  regard  to  the  desires  and  needs  of  the  communities 
more  directly  interested,  as  well  as  to  obtain  a knowledge  of 
the  most  notable  local  features  of  natural  scenery. 


II. 

Boston  Bay, — its  Islands  and  Shores. 


First  in  order  in  the  line  of  inquiry  adopted  came  the 
opportunities  afforded  by  Boston  harbor  and  bay  and  their 
shores  for  aquatic  and  water-side  recreation.  The  harbor 
and  bay,  with  their  surroundings,  throughout  the  summer 
months,  form  perhaps  the  most  popular  pleasure  ground  of 
the  entire  metropolitan  region.  The  water  surface,  of  course, 
is  free  to  all,  and  must  ever  remain  so.  But  it  is  other- 
wise with  the  shores  and  islands,  upon  the  condition  and 


26  METROPOLITAN  PARKS.  [Jan. 

aspect  of  which  much  of  the  pleasure  derivable  from  the 
recreative  use  of  the  water  depends. 

The  city  of  Boston,  in  creating  its  new  parks,  has  in- 
deed recognized  this  fact,  and  in  the  Marine  Park  at  City 
Point  in  South  Boston,  — including  Castle  Island,  which, 
through  the  generosity  of  the  national  government,  has  been 
placed  at  the  disposition  of  the  park  department,  and 
recently  connected  with  the  mainland  as  a portion  of  the 
park,  — together  with  the  water-side  drive  or  parkway  along 
the  shores  of  Dorchester  Bay  or  Old  Harbor,  uniting  the 
Marine  Park  with  other  portions  of  the  park  system,  has 
made  an  important  beginning  for  the  water-side  recreation 
of  the  people.  This  provision,  however,  does  not  begin  to 
meet  the  requirements  in  this  direction  that  for  the  great 
metropolitan  population  will  exist  in  the  near  future.  It  is 
therefore  desirable  that  ample  provisions  should  be  made 
while  the  opportunity  exists. 

The  advantages  presented  by  the  islands  in  the  bay 
naturally  first  suggest  themselves.  These  islands  are  mostly 
public  property,  belonging  either  to  the  city  of  Boston  or  to 
the  national  government,  and  are  occupied  by  public  institu- 
tions of  various  kinds,  or  by  fortifications  for  harbor  defence. 
Of  those  not  so  occupied,  and  still  remaining  in  private  or 
semi-private  hands,  there  are  two  which  appear  to  be 
particularly  well  adapted  to  utilization  for  public  recreation. 
While  they  might  not  be  immediately  available,  it  would 
seem  worth  while  to  secure  them  and  hold  them  in  reserve 
for  the  needs  of  the  future. 

One  of  these,  Peddock’s  Island,  is  the  largest  in  the  bay, 
and  has  the  advantage  of  lying  near  its  entrance,  at  the  main 
ship  channel.  There  are  extensive  views  from  its  prominent 
elevations  over  the  animated  maritime  scenes  presented  by 
the  constant  movement  of  ocean  commerce  in  and  out  of  the 
port,  and  the  place  is  exposed  to  a freer  sweep  of  the  ocean 
breezes  than  the  inner  islands  of  the  bay.  It  could  easily 
be  connected  with  the  city  and  the  communities  of  the  south- 
erly side  of  the  bay  by  the  steamers  plying  to  and  from 
Nantasket,  Hull,  Hingham  and  Downer’s  Landing. 


HOUSE  — No.  150. 


27 


1893.] 

The  second  is  Thompson’s  Island,  lying  within  the  limits 
of  Boston.  Should  it  ever  be  found  desirable  to  remove  the 
Farm  School  now  occupying  it  to  some  convenient  locality 
on  the  main  land,  as  has  been  suggested  in  the  interests  of 
that  institution,  the  island  might  most  appropriately  be 
made  a portion  of  the  Boston  park  system.  It  could  easily 
be  connected  with  the  Marine  Park,  close  by,  by  a service 
of  electric  or  steam  launches,  and  as  a narrow  channel  only 
separates  it  from  the  main  land  at  Squantum  peninsula,  in 
Quincy,  it  could  easily  be  joined  thereto  by  a bridge,  the 
right  to  establish  which  already  exists.  This  would  make  it 
accessible  from  the  Dorchester  district,  as  well  as  from 
Quincy  and  other  communities  of  the  south  shore.  The 
well-grown  plantations  of  trees,  both  deciduous  and  ever- 
green, that  mark  this  island,  add  greatly  to  its  beauty  and 
attractiveness. 

About  the  only  island  now  belonging  to  the  city  of  Boston 
that  is  not  occupied  for  public  purposes  is  Apple  Island,  in 
the  northerly  portion  of  the  bay,  lying  near  East  Boston  and 
Winthrop.  It  is  a small  island  containing  a little  less  than 
nine  acres,  but  is  given  an  exceptional  prominence  and  at- 
tractiveness by  a group  of  handsome  elm  trees.  It  would 
seem  an  excellent  idea  for  the  city  to  transfer  this  island  to 
the  park  department,  which  eventually  might  improve  it  and 
connect  it  with  Wood  Island  Park  in  East  Boston  by  a 
service  of  launches. 

In  Hingham  bay,  near  the  village  of  Hull,  lies  Biimkin 
Island,  with  an  area  of  33.7  acres.  It  belongs  to  Harvard 
College,  and  as  it  is  at  present  barren  and  unimproved,  the 
idea  naturally  suggests  itself  that  an  admirable  use  of  it  would 
be  for  the  University  to  give  it  in  charge  of  its  important 
department,  the  Arnold  Arboretum,  which  might  put  it  to 
good  service  as  an  experiment  station  for  arboriculture 
under  maritime  conditions. 

1.  Restoring  the  Tree-covering  on  the  Islands. 

The  appearance  of  the  bay  is  a matter  that  is  of  deep  in- 
terest to  Boston  and  its  vicinity,  and  not  only  from  a 


28 


METROPOLITAN  PARKS. 


[Jan. 


recreative  stand-point,  for  the  question  also  has  its  economic 
considerations.  The  bay  is  one  of  the  most  attractive  features 
of  Boston,  and,  if  measures  can  be  devised  to  increase  that 
attractiveness,  which  is  the  means  of  bringing  strangers 
hither  from  all  parts  of  the  country  to  enjoy  the  advantages 
presented  by  a highly  developed  community,  and  particu- 
larly if  these  measures  can  be  carried  out  at  a small  cost, 
it  would  be  folly  not  to  undertake  them.  The  great  fault  of 
the  bay,  from  a landscape  point  of  view,  lies  in  the  barren 
aspect  of  its  islands  and  shores,  the  hard  and  naked  lines  of 
their  thin  slopes  covered  only  with  turf,  and  unrelieved, 
except  in  rare  instances,  by  any  trees,  or  even  shrubbery. 
These  islands  and  shores  were  formerly  well  clothed  with 
woods,  which  were  cut  away  in  the  colonial  days. 

The  subject  of  the  restoration  of  this  tree-covering,  so  far 
as  practicable  and  advisable,  was  considered  in  a most  instruc- 
tive and  interesting  way  in  the  annual  report  of  the  Boston 
Park  Commissioners  for  1887,  which  included  the  report  of 
Mr.  Frederick  Law  Olmsted,  as  landscape  architect  advisory 
of  the  department,  upon  a communication  from  the  Boston 
Memorial  Association,  urging  that  comprehensive  steps  be 
taken  in  this  direction.  In  view  of  the  interest  and  impor- 
tance of  Mr.  Olmsted’s  report,  and  the  many  facts  in  it  not 
elsewhere  easily  found,  I venture  to  append  a copy  of  it  to 
this  statement,  and  hope  it  may  be  printed  with  it.  [ See 
Appendix  F.]  It  will  be  observed  that  Mr.  Olmsted  points 
to  the  remarkable  use  made  of  Boston  bay  for  recreative 
purposes,  showing  that,  with  the  possible  exception  of  Ven- 
ice, the  people  of  no  other  city  in  the  world  have  made  such 
good  use  of  their  harbor,  otherwise  than  commercial,  as 
those  of  Boston  have  long  been  accustomed  to  do. 

The  bay  being  the  circumstance  that  caused  the  foundation 
of  Boston  and  its  development  as  a great  city,  bearing 
the  character  of  the  main  portal  of  the  New  England 
metropolis,  it  is  appropriate  that  it  should  be  treated  in  a 
manner  worthy  of  that  character.  Therefore  it  is  to  be 
hoped  that  the  recommendations  then  made,  and  which, 
unfortunately,  failed  to  receive  favorable  action,  may  yet  be 


Island  End  Creek  and  Mystic  River,  Everett. 


1893.] 


HOUSE  — No.  150. 


29 


carried  out,  as  they  easily  can  be,  in  the  most  systematic 
way  and  at  a very  small  expense. 


2.  The  South  Shore . 

Turning  to  the  shores  of  the  bay,  attention  is  almost 
necessarily  at  once  attracted  to  the  remarkably  picturesque 
and  beautiful  promontory  of  Squantum,  which,  although 
within  the  limits  of  the  city  of  Quincy,  belongs  to  the  city 
of  Boston,  having  been  taken  for  the  use  of  the  sewer  depart- 
ment in  the  building  of  the  great  sewer  that  passes  under 
Dorchester  Bay  by  a tunnel,  and  by  a causeway  to  its  point 
of  discharge  at  Moon  Island.  The  city  of  Boston  owns 
sixteen  acres  at  this  point,  and  it  would  be  easy  to  arrange 
for  its  use  for  park  purposes  without  interfering  with 
the  operations  of  the  department.  Being,  however,  out- 
side the  limits  of  Boston,  it  would  naturally  come  within 
the  scope  of  open  spaces  under  consideration.  It  has  long 
been  a favorite  objective  point  for  people  driving  to  the  shore 
from  Quincy  and  other  communities  to  the  southward  of 
Boston.  It  offers  one  of  the  most  beautiful  and  varied  views 
over  the  bay.  It  would  naturally  be  united  with  the  other 
drive  along  the  margin  of  Quincy  bay,  which  the  park  depart- 
ment of  that  city  now  has  under  consideration.  The  cause- 
way carrying  the  line  of  the  sewer  to  Moon  Island  offers  an 
opportunity  for  the  extension  of  the  drive  to  that  place. 
Should  the  proposition  ever  be  carried  out  to  extend  the 
sewer  under  the  harbor  and  along  Long  Island  to  an  outlet 
in  Broad  Sound  near  that  of  the  north  metropolitan  sewer 
from  Deer  Island,  Moon  Island  might  be  converted  into  a 
most  desirable  portion  of  this  possible  system  of  pleasure 
ways  and  grounds. 

Another  suggestion  that  has  been  made  merits  mention 
here.  It  is  proposed  to  carry  the  high-level  system  of 
sewerage,  designed  for  the  upland  portions  of  Dorchester, 
Roxbury,  West  Roxbury  and  of  the  south  metropolitan 
sewerage  district  beyond,  to  an  independent  connection 
with  the  outlet  at  Moon  Island,  to  avoid  the  expense  of 


30 


METROPOLITAN  PARKS. 


[Jan. 


pumping  at  the  Calf  Pasture  station.  Instead  of  carrying 
this  sewer  under  the  bay,  by  tunnel  or  otherwise,  as  in  the 
case  of  the  present  sewer,  it  might  be  better  to  construct  a 
causeway  across  Dorchester  Bay  from  the  Calf  Pasture  to 
Squantum.  This  causeway  could  form  a most  attractive 
feature  of  the  Boston  park  system,  by  carrying  a parkway 
connected  with  the  Boston  parkways  that  are  designed  to 
connect  with  the  Marine  Park  by  way  of  the  shore  of  the 
old  harbor  across  to  Squantum,  to  a connection  with  the 
proposed  Quincy  system. 

This  causeway  would  also  make  a full  basin  of  that 
portion  of  Dorchester  Bay  and  the  estuary  of  the  Neponset 
River  lying  within  it,  adding  greatly  to  its  beauty.  A 
drawbridge  and  a lock  would  give  access  to  vessels,  and  it 
is  held  that  the  value  of  the  basin  thus  enclosed  would  be 
enhanced  for  commercial  purposes,  as  it  would  provide  a 
good  depth  of  navigable  water  at  all  times. 

3.  JVantasJcet  Beach  and  the  Hills  and  Shores  at  Hull. 

The  remaining  portion  of  the  southerly  shores  of  the  bay 
that  more  immediately  concerns  the  metropolitan  population 
is  Nantasket  Beach  and  the  neighboring  heights,  together 
with  the  beaches  and  elevated  points  in  and  near  the  village 
of  Hull.  Nantasket  Beach  is  frequented  by  great  multitudes 
in  the  summer  months,  and  it  seems  desirable  that  some 
measures  should  be  taken  to  give  the  public  a permanent 
right  to  the  use  of  its  inestimable  privileges  of  seaside  recre- ' 
ation,  while  the  heights  near  the  beach,  and  particularly 
near  the  village  of  Hull,  — such  as  Telegraph  Hill,  a historic 
locality  by  reason  of  its  old  fortifications  remaining  from 
the  war  of  1812,  — are  valuable  as  outlook  points  command- 
ing noble  views  over  the  entrance  to  the  bay  and  neighboring 
shores. 

4.  The  Hingham , Weymouth  and  Braintree  Shores . 

The  water  fronts  of  the  towns  of  Hingham,  Weymouth 
and  Braintree  are  of  striking  beauty,  with  their  varied  and 


1893.] 


HOUSE  — No.  150. 


31 


well-wooded  shores  reaching  far  into  the  interior ; but  as  the 
two  former  towns,  at  least,  are  at  present  only  somewhat 
remotely  connected  with  the  metropolitan  population,  and  as 
there  appear  to  be  no  problems  of  immediate  importance 
connected  therewith,  it  would  seem  that  the  conservation  of 
the  natural  features  may  for  the  present  be  safely  left  to  the 
local  authorities.  In  this  connection  attention  may  be  called 
to  the  small  rocky  islands  in  Hingham  harbor.  The  work 
of  Mr.  Brewer,  their  owner,  in  planting  them  with  trees  and 
shrubs  and  caring  for  them  in  a way  that  enhances  their 
natural  beauty,  is  worthy  of  all  praise.  They  add  greatly  to 
the  charm  of  the  approach  to  the  town  by  water,  — the  line 
of  steamboats  forming  a favorite  route  through  the  summer, — 
and  care  should  be  taken  to  see  that  their  present  character 
is  permanently  preserved. 

5 . The  North  Shore.  — Winthrop:  a Typical  Illustration 
of  Detrimental  Real  Estate  Development. 

The  northerly  shores  of  the  bay  are  close  to  the  denser 
portions  of  the  metropolitan  population,  and  therefore  are 
of  corresponding  importance  in  their  relation  to  the  seaside 
needs  of  the  public.  The  town  of  Winthrop  presents  certain 
problems  of  the  situation  in  a typical  way  and  in  compact 
form.  This  town,  by  reason  of  its  increased  accessibility 
through  improved  railway  facilities,  has  experienced  an 
enormous  proportional  increase  in  population,  being  the 
second  community  in  the  State  in  its  percentage  of  growth, 
as  exhibited  in  the  census  of  1890.  The  rate  for  the  decade 
was  161.4  per  cent.,  the  population  growing  from  1,043  in 
1880  to  2,726  in  1890.  Not  only  has  its  permanent  popu- 
lation increased  so  remarkably,  but  its  ease  of  access  from 
Boston,  together  with  its  situation,  with  the  waters  of  the 
inner  bay  on  one  side  and  the  open  sea  on  the  other,  have 
made  it  extremely  attractive  for  a very  large  summer 
population.  The  town’s  area  has,  therefore,  been  built  over 
very  extensively,  but  in  a way  that  unfortunately  does  not 
give  promise  for  the  permanent  attractiveness  which  a place 


METROPOLITAN  PARKS. 


32 


[Jan. 


of  such  great  natural  advantages  should  and  easily  could 
possess. 

The  circumstances  just  alluded  to  have  made  the  town  the 
scene  of  active  real-estate  speculation.  There  are  few  things 
in  which  the  future  is  regarded  with  such  short-sighted  vision 
as  in  the  ordinary  class  of  real-estate  operations,  which,  as 
usually  conducted,  are  apt  in  the  long  run  to  form  a serious 
obstacle  to  the  healthy  and  natural  growth  of  a large  popula- 
tion. Taking  advantage  of  the  natural  attractiveness  of  a 
locality,  they  not  only  seldom  do  anything  towards  maintain- 
ing it,  but,  through  the  manner  in  which  operations  are  con- 
ducted, they  tend  to  destroy  such  attractiveness  as  effectively 
as  if  that  were  their  main  object.  A beautiful  stretch  of  sea- 
shore, or  a lakeside,  or  pleasant  woodland  hills,  are  often  the 
features  that  draw  the  attention  of  real-estate  operators  to  a 
locality,  and  furnish  the  bait  through  which  they  effect  their 
sales.  But  with  the  building  up  of  a population,  the  very 
features  that  first  induced  its  settlement  are  too  often  either 
destroyed  and  disfigured,  or  the  operations  are  so  conducted 
that  the  occupiers  of  the  territory  are  for  the  most  part 
deprived  of  nearly  all  use  and  enjoyment  thereof. 

Unfortunately,  the  promoters  of  the  real-estate  enterprises 
that  have  built  up  many  large  sections  of  our  suburban 
communities  have  either  not  been  identified  with  the  real 
interests  of  the  communities  wherein  they  operated,  or,  if 
citizens  of  the  place,  have  been  too  short-sighted  to  look  any 
distance  into  the  future.  The  sole  idea  actuating  enterprises 
of  this  character  is  to  sell  the  largest  number  of  lots  in  the 
shortest  possible  space  of  time,  clean  up  their  sales,  so  to 
speak,  and  take  themselves  to  some  new  field  of  operations, 
after  which  their  interest  in  the  cofnmunity  ceases.  The 
sites  having  the  greatest  market  value  are  naturally  those 
occupying  the  shore  front  or  the  other  best  points  of  view. 
But  while  these  sites  are  usually  among  the  first  disposed  of, 
realizing  handsome  prices,  their  occupancy  cuts  off  the  rest 
of  the  inhabitants  from  the  privileges  of  the  shore  or  from 
the  other  advantages  that  have  been  the  main  consideration 
in  attracting  them  thither.  It  may  be  observed  that  it  is 


9.  Snake  Creek,  Chelsea  and  Revere. 


1893.] 


HOUSE  — No.  150. 


33 


often  the  case  in  the  development  of  these  properties  that 
after  the  choicest  have  been  sold  the  remaining  lots  are  dis- 
posed of  with  difficulty.  Therefore  but  few  of  these  real- 
estate  enterprises  are  on  record  as  having  met  the  expecta- 
tions of  their  founders.  At  the  best  they  have  served  for 
speculative  booms  in  which  a few  have  prospered,  while  the 
enterprise  as  a whole  has  met  with  adversity. 

The  reasons  for  these  results  are  largely  to  be  found  in  the 
improper  and  short-sighted  method  of  planning  the  property. 
A truly  enlightened  and  liberal  policy  in  such  enterprises 
would  be  to  identify  them  permanently  with  the  welfare  of 
the  community,  and  so  shape  them  that  they  will  always  fit 
in  to  the  natural  circumstances  of  the  place  in  a way  to 
promote  steadily  its  attractiveness  and  prosperity. 

Winthrop  is  blessed  by  nature  with  a remarkably  beautiful 
and  favorable  situation ; particularly  favorable  indeed  as  a 
water-side  residence  for  business  men  from  the  great  city 
that  lies  but  half  an  hour  away  by  rail  and  ferryboat.  Salt 
water  lies  on  three  sides  of  the  town,  and  it  has  a strikingly 
varied  and  extensive  shore.  Bold  uplands  command  magnifi- 
cent views  of  sea  and  land  in  all  directions,  and  between  are 
many  pleasant  sites  for  dwellings.  Yet  the  uplands  have, 
for  the  most  part,  been  so  occupied  as  nearly  to  destroy  their 
utility  for  the  community  as  a whole,  and  the  shore  front  has 
also  been  occupied  chiefly  to  the  temporary  advantage  of  the 
private  few  and  the  permanent  detriment  of  the  public  many. 
Although  certain  portions  of  the  shore  are  laid  out  in  an 
attractive  manner  and  occupied  with  dwellings  of  a high  class, 
by  the  transformation  of  old  farms  and  country-residence 
estates  into  what  are  known  as  “residence  parks,”  yet  it  is 
with  considerable  astonishment  that  one  learns,  in  passing 
over  these  places,  that  even  in  case  of  the  roads  which  run 
close  to  the  shore  the  land  on  the  water-side  of  these  ways  is 
to  be  disposed  of  in  private  lots.  Instead  of  making  these 
roads  what  they  should  be,  beautiful  shore  drives  that  shall 
perpetually  secure  to  the  residents  near  by,  who  are  attracted 
solely  by  the  present  charms  of  the  site,  the  glorious  views 
over  the  bay  with  its  islands  and  distant  shores  which  they 


34 


METROPOLITAN  PARKS. 


[Jan. 


now  command,  the  land  between  the  roads  and  the  water  is 
also  to  be  disposed  of  and  cut  up  into  house  lots  like  the  rest. 

The  residents  of  these  neighborhoods  will  thus  eventually 
be  permanently  shut  out  from  access  to  the  shore,  and  from 
their  present  invaluable  prospects  over  the  water.  And, 
while  these  water-side  lots  may,  for  the  time  being,  be 
occupied  by  an  attractive  class  of  houses,  sooner  or  later 
they  are  liable  to  become  covered,  as  has  elsewhere  been  the 
case,  with  a more  and  more  objectionable  class  of  construc- 
tion, until  finally  all  advantages  that  originally  belonged  to 
the  site  will  have  disappeared,  and,  so  far  as  its  advantage  to 
the  people  of  the  town  is  concerned,  the  sea  may  as  well 
not  exist  at  all. 

6.  A Warning  Example  from  England . 

This  form  of  harmful  occupation  of  the  shore  and  the  ex- 
clusion of  the  public  from  all  the  benefits  derivable  from  the 
immediate  neighborhood  of  the  sea  exists  to-day  to  a marked 
degree  in  many  portions  of  England.  Dr.  Edward  Everett 
Hale,  in  his  recent  visit  to  that  country,  traversed  a road 
that  passed  close  by  the  sea ; but  for  several  miles  all  sight 
of  the  water  was  shut  off  by  high  hedges,  and  the  local  guide 
books  called  particular  attention  to  a certain  opening,  where 
passers-by  were  advised  to  stop  and  enjoy  the  broad  view 
over  the  sea  that  might  be  obtained  from  the  spot ! Not 
impossibly  the  famous  Jerusalem  Road  in  Cohasset  may  at 
no  remote  day  be  subjected  to  similar  treatment  with  a like 
result. 

Perhaps  the  people  of  Boston  may  likewise  eventually 
be  excluded  from  all  sight  of  the  sea  along  a great  extent  of 
the  shore  in  their  neighborhood,  and  may  be  compelled  to 
pay  for  the  privilege  of  looking  through  peep-holes  in  fences 
or  hedges  upon  the  unfamiliar  sight  of  the  ocean  surf. 

7.  How  Best  to  promote  a Healthy  Local  Growth . 

The  most  fitting  and  economical  method  of  promoting  the 
prosperous  growth  of  a town  would  be  to  secure  and  define 


10.  Belize  Isle  Creek  and  Breed’s  Island. 


1893.] 


HOUSE  — No.  150. 


35 


all  the  future  highways  in  accordance  with  the  natural  topog- 
raphy of  the  territory  by  some  instrumentality  such  as 
Boston  has  adopted  in  its  board  of  survey.  In  this  way 
the  manner  of  its  future  development  would  be  assured  and 
costly  mistakes  would  be  avoided.  In  the  case  of  a town 
like  Winthrop,  for  instance,  the  shore  line,  which  constitutes 
a most  valuable  asset  in  the  natural  endowments  of  the  place, 
should  be  secured  entirely  for  the  benefit  of  the  community 
as  a whole  and  the  neighboring  roads  laid  out  in  conformity 
thereto.  The  tops  of  the  various  hills  should  then  be 
reserved  to  furnish  points  of  view  over  the  remarkably 
beautiful  landscapes  which  they  command.  Thus  equipped, 
these  elements  would  be  found  of  unspeakable  financial  value 
in  assuring  a constant  and  steadily  increasing  prosperity  for 
the  place. 

8.  Notable  Local  Features  in  Winthrop . 

Upon  one  circumstance  Winthrop  is  to  be  congratulated, 
and  that  is  that  the  highway  runs  directly  along  the  beach  be- 
tween the  bold  promontory  known  as  Winthrop  Great  Head 
and  Grover’s  0115"  in  the  section  called  Ocean  Spray.  Al- 
though the  beach  remains  the  private  property  of  the  abutters 
on  the  other  side  of  the  road,  yet  to  all  intents  and  purposes 
it  is  public,  for  the  deeds  to  purchasers  have  been  made  out  in 
such  a way  that  the  shore  is  held  by  them  in  common,  and 
cannot  be  occupied  for  any  private  purposes. 

It  should  also  be  mentioned  that  the  beach  between  Win- 
throp Great  Head  and  Point  Shirley,  along  which  the  line 
of  the  Boston,  Winthrop  & Shore  Railroad  formerly  ran, 
still  belongs  to  the  railway  company,  now  merged  in  the 
Boston,  Revere  Beach  & Lynn,  so  that  it  would  probably 
not  be  a difficult  matter  to  secure  public  permanent  rights  in 
this  stretch  of  shore.  The  line  of  the  North  Metropolitan 
sewer,  on  its  way  to  its  outlet  at  the  further  end  of  Deer 
Island,  also  passes  along  this  beach,  and  the  title  to  the  land 
thus  occupied  vests  in  the  Commonwealth. 

In  the  midst  of  the  town,  near  the  Boston  harbor  side  of 


36 


METROPOLITAN  PARKS. 


[Jan. 


the  water  front,  lies  a swampy  tract  of  considerable  area, 
which  the  owner,  a public-spirited  lady,  proposes  to  give  to 
the  town  for  park  purposes,  and  which  is  capable  of  utili- 
zation for  a local  playground  without  incurring  a very  great 
outlay  for  improvement. 

In  the  centre  of  the  town  are  the  extensive  works,  well 
advanced  towards  completion,  for  the  mortar  battery  of 
thirty-two  pieces,  now  under  construction  by  the  national 
government.  This  fortification  and  its  armament  will  cost 
considerably  over  a million  dollars.  It  is  expected  that  the 
site,  which  occupies  a considerable  area,  will  serve  the 
people  to  a great  degree  as  a local  pleasure  ground,  under 
certain  restrictions.  On  Grover’s  Cliff,  on  the  north-easterly 
shore  of  the  town,  a strong  battery  of  three  monster  long- 
range  guns  is  also  under  construction.  This  will  likewise 
cost  an  enormous  sum. 

It  is  pertinent  to  reflect  to  what  a great  extent  this 
outlay  for  military  purposes  in  a single  town  — an  outlay 
which  is  but  a fraction  of  that  proposed  for  the  construction 
of  similar  works  on  various  portions  of  the  shore  and  islands 
of  the  bay  — would  go  in  providing  the  entire  metropolitan 
district  with  its  desired  system  of  pleasure  grounds.  It  is 
to  be  hoped  that  the  day  may  come  when  the  expenditure  of 
untold  sums  which  the  public  readily  incurs  for  the  destruc- 
tion of  human  life  may  cease,  and  a fractional  part  at  least 
of  the  amounts  now  so  spent  be  devoted  to  the  prolongation 
of  human  life  and  the  making  of  that  life  the  more  worth 
the  living,  through  supplying  the  real  wants  of  a civilized 
people. 

9.  Revere:  Invaluable  Character  of  the  Magnificent  Beach% 

The  shore  line  of  the  adjacent  town  of  Revere,  extending 
along  the  base  of  the  conspicuous  uplands  of  Beachmont, 
between  Winthrop  and  Crescent  Beach,  is  to  be  character- 
ized for  the  same  condition  of  things  that  has  been  found  so 
deplorable  in  Winthrop.  Revere  possesses  one  of  the  finest 
stretches  of  ocean  beach  on  the  Atlantic  coast.  For  the 


' t < ■ ■ 


11.  Great  Head,  Winthrop.  After  a photograph  by  N.  L.  Stebbins. 


1893.] 


HOUSE— No.  150. 


37 


north  shore  it  is  what  Nantasket  is  for  the  south  shore.  By 
nature  it  is  an  exceedingly  attractive  locality,  and  it  is  of 
immense  value  as  a popular  shore  resort  for  the  people  of 
Boston  and  of  the  metropolitan  district  at  large.  It  lies 
within  twenty  minutes  of  the  business  centre  of  Boston,  by 
way  of  the  ferry  and  steam  cars  of  the  Boston,  Revere  Beach 
& Lynn  Railroad,  and  is  also  connected  with  the  city  by  the 
eastern  division  of  the  Boston  & Maine.  The  same  steam 
railways,  together  with  various  street-railway  lines,  connect 
it  with  nearly  all  portions  of  the  northerly  half  of  the  met- 
ropolitan district,  making  it  the  nearest  ocean-side  pleasure 
ground  for  a population  numbering  at  least  half  a million. 

Revere  Beach,  however,  so  far  as  environment  is  con- 
cerned, is  to-day  in  a most  deplorable  condition.  Nearly 
the  whole  shore  is  occupied  for  the  space  between  the  rail- 
way, the  highways  and  the  water,  so  far  as  the  ocean  billows 
permit,  by  the  cheapest  kind  of  shanties.  These  are  util- 
ized to  a large  extent  for  undesirable  purposes.  Rough  and 
disorderly  elements  are  thus  attracted  to  the  place,  so  that, 
except  in  a few  favored  spots,  women  and  children  cannot 
with  security  resort  thither  for  the  relaxation  which  they 
require.  It  hardly  needs  to  be  stated  that  this  is  an  undesir- 
able state  of  affairs  for  a place  which  may  be  said  by  natural 
right  peculiarly  to  belong  to  the  public  for  its  own  health 
and  advantage. 

Seaside  recreation  is  one  of  the  greatest  charms  and  priv- 
leges  of  the  summer  months  in  any  coast  region,  and  it 
should  be  made  as  freely  the  prerogative  of  all  as  air,  water 
and  sunshine.  For  children,  a day  at  the  seaside  is  a day 
in  paradise,  spent  as  it  is  by  digging  in  the  sand,  picking  up 
shells  and  seaweeds,  sporting  in  the  water,  and  listening  to 
the  music  of  the  waves.  Something  should  be  done,  there- 
fore, to  make  Revere  Beach  what  it  is  capable  of  becoming 
for  the  great  public.  A seaside  drive  and  promenade  extend- 
ing from  the  Boston  connections  that  easily  might  be  made 
at  the  southerly  end  of  the  beach,  along  to  the  Point  of 
Pines  and  thence  across  the  mouth  of  the  Saugus  River  to  a 
connection  with  the  large  urban  population  of  Lynn,  which 


38 


METROPOLITAN  PARKS. 


[Jan. 


in  a comparatively  few  years  will  number  at  least  one  hun- 
dred thousand,  is  a scheme  that  naturally  presents  itself  as 
the  simplest  and  most  practical  solution  of  the  problem. 

10.  The  Lynn,  Nahant  and  Swampscott  Shores . 

At  Lynn  the  enlightened  policy  adopted  a few  years  ago 
by  the  authorities  of  that  city  in  relation  to  recreation 
grounds  has  lately  secured  a most  beautiful  site  upon  the 
water  front  for  an  ocean-side  terrace.  This  tract  is  in  continu- 
ity with  the  long  neck  of  Nahant,  the  ocean  shore  of  which 
still  bears  the  familiar  designation  of  Lynn  Beach.  The  latter, 
together  with  Little  Nahant  Beach,  between  the  promontory 
of  Little  Nahant  and  the  main  peninsula,  belongs  to  the 
town  of  Nahant.  These  two  necks  have  the  exceptional 
advantage  of  possessing  double  shore  lines,  the  inner 
beaches  bordering  Boston  bay  and  Lynn  harbor.  They  are 
therefore  capable  of  great  public  service  for  the  large  popu- 
lations of  the  mainland  near  by.  These  double  beaches  are 
susceptible  of  some  simple  method  of  treatment  that  will 
greatly  increase  their  value. 

Beyond  the  ocean-side  terrace  of  Lynn,  just  mentioned, 
is  a stretch  of  alternating  beach  and  rocky  promontory, 
running  along  into  Swaippscott  and  capable  of  easy  develop- 
ment as  a noble  esplanade.  In  Swampscott,  adjacent  to  the 
Lynn  boundary,  is  a line  stretch  of  beach  at  present  largely 
occupied  by  fish  houses  and  other  unsightly  constructions. 
A project  is  under  consideration  in  Swampscott  for  reserving 
it  for  public  purposes.  In  case  this  were  done,  and  the 
policy  that  seems  desirable  in  relation  to  Revere  Beach  were 
entered  upon,  — taken  together  with  what  Lynn  and  Nahant 
already  hold,  — a grand  stretch  of  shore  on  the  northerly  side 
of  Boston  bay  and  a large  portion  of  the  peerless  crescent  of 
Nahant  bay  would  become  available  for  public  use. 

The  continuous  shore  drive  that  in  time  would  thus  be 
secured  would  rival  in  its  charms  the  noble  Riverside  drive 
of  New  York  City ; or  the  grand  driveway  along  the  lake 
shore  now  under  construction  and  partly  completed  from  the 
heart  of  Chicago  out  to  Fort  Sheridan,  twenty  miles  away. 


1 r'i  / o 


12.  Revere  Beach.  After  a photograph  by  N.  L.  Stebbius. 


1893.] 


HOUSE  — No.  150. 


39 


III. 

Inland  Features  of  the  North  and  West 
Metropolitan  Region. — Lynn  Woods. 

The  city  of  Lynn,  in  its  noble  public  forest,  “the  Lynn 
Woods,”  shows  a remarkable  instance  of  what  public  spirit 
and  a wise  policy  of  municipal  foresight  can  accomplish. 
This  great  woodland  reservation  of  more  than  two  thousand 
acres  serves  the  purpose  of  a grand  public  pleasure  ground, 
incidentally  to  the  protection  of  the  water  supply  of  the  city. 
This  consists  of  three  beautiful  basins  occupying  the  sites  of 
former  swamps,  and  having  shores  largely  of  rock  and 
covered  with  a forest  growth.  Throughout  the  woods  are 
many  scenes  of  rare  sylvan  beauty,  and  the  territory  is  made 
conveniently  and  comfortably  accessible  to  the  public  from 
nearly  all  parts  by  a system  of  drives  and  walks.  The  drives 
were  constructed  partly  by  the  water  board  and  partly  by 
the  park  department,  and  the  foot  paths  by  the  latter  at  a 
very  slight  expense.  The  Lynn  woods  furnish  a telling 
example  of  what  can  be  easily  and  economically  accomplished 
in  other  parts  of  the  metropolitan  district,  supplying  most 
valuable  recreation  grounds  of  a character  that  can  be  main- 
tained at  the  minimum  of  expense. 

1.  The  Saugus  River  Valley,  — “ Appleton's  Pulpit .” 

In  the  neighboring  town  of  Saugus  in  the  valley  of  the 
Saugus  River  are  two  localities  of  notable  interest,  both 
situated  near  the  centre  of  the  town.  One  of  these  is  the 
locality  about  Pranker’s  Pond,  — - a large  basin  formed  in  the 
river  by  the  dam  at  Pranker’s  Mills,  — comprising  the 
historic  and  picturesque  feature  called  “Appleton’s  Pulpit,” 
where,  according  to  tradition,  in  the  early  days  of  the  colony 
Major  Appleton  addressed  the  people  from  the  summit  of  the 
rocky  cliff,  denouncing  the  tyranny  of  Andros.  Below 
Pranker’s  Mills  the  river  meanders  through  tranquil  meadows 
bordered  by  pastoral  and  wooded  slopes,  forming  a quiet 


40 


METROPOLITAN  PARKS. 


[Jan. 


rural  landscape  of  exquisite  beauty,  — one  of  the  most  charm- 
ing passages  of  the  kind  in  the  neighborhood  of  Boston. 

It  is  well  to  bear  in  mind  that  this  valley  of  the  Saugus, 
with  the  spread  of  the  population  from  the  directions  of 
both  Lynn  and  Boston,  will  become,  at  no  far  distant  day, 
filled  by  a large  population.  If  either  or  both  of  these 
features  can  be  secured,  through  private  beneficence  or  local 
initiative,  it  would  be  desirable  to  include  them  in  the  met- 
ropolitan system.  It  is  worthy  of  note  that  on  the  borders 
of  the  Saugus  River  just  below  Pranker’s  Mills,  and  included 
within  the  second-mentioned  feature,  is  the  site  of  the  first 
iron  works  established  in  this  country,  the  ore  coming  from 
the  bog  near  by.  A large  heap  of  slag  still  marks  the  spot. 

2,  Snake  Creek  Valley  between  Chelsea  and  Revere . 

On  the  borders  of  Chelsea  and  Revere  is  what  is  known  as 
the  Snake  Creek  Valley,  between  the  two  conspicuous 
eminences  of  drumlin  formation,  Powder-horn  Hill  on  the 
Chelsea  side  and  Fenno’s  Hill  on  the  Revere  side.  The  salt 
creek  winding  through  the  marshes  of  the  valley  floor  makes 
an  attractive  landscape  feature,  and  the  locality  could  readily 
be  made  available  for  recreative  purposes,  meeting  the  wants 
both  of  Chelsea,  with  its  dense  population,  and  Revere, 
which  is  the  third  community  in  the  State  in  the  percentage 
of  increase  for  the  decade  recorded  in  the  census  of  1890. 
Its  rate  of  growth  was  150.5  per  cent. ; the  population  in 
1880  was  2,263,  and  in  1890,  5,668. 

3.  The  Valley  of  the  Mystic  River . 

The  valley  of  the  Mystic  River  next  comes  up  for  con- 
sideration. The  Mystic  is  an  estuary  from  the  lower  Mystic 
Lake,  between  Winchester,  Medford  and  Arlington.  It 
receives  the  flow  of  the  chain  of  ponds  and  streams  with 
their  headwaters  in  Woburn,  and  proceeds  through  Horn 
Pond,  in  that  city,  Winter  and  Wedge  ponds  and  the 
Abbajona  River,  in  Winchester,  down  to  the  Mystic  lakes, 


1893.] 


HOUSE  — No.  150. 


41 


the  upper  basin  of  which  forms  the  water  supply  for  the 
Charlestown  district  of  Boston  and  the  cities  of  Somerville, 
Everett  and  Chelsea.  Tributaries  of  the  Mystic  are  also  the 
brooks  from  Spy  Pond,  in  Arlington,  and  Fresh  Pond,  in 
Cambridge,  and  the  Malden  River,  or  the  Wannalansett,  as 
it  is  known  in  its  upper  portion,  proceeding  from  Spot  Pond 
in  Stoneham  and  Medford  and  Ell  Pond  in  Melrose.  The 
shtires  of  the  Mystic  estuary  are  largely  salt  marsh,  and  are 
little  occupied  except  at  two  points  : on  the  Charlestown  side, 
where  there  are  the  extensive  freight  terminals  of  the  Boston 
& Maine  Railroad  system ; and  in  its  course  through  the  centre 
of  Medford,  where  up  to  within  a little  less  than  a generation 
were  some  of  the  most  famous  ship  yards  on  the  continent, 
and  where  the  first  vessel  built  in  the  Massachusetts  Bay 
Colony,  “ The  Blessing  of  the  Bay,”  was  launched. 

The  beauty  of  the  distant  views  makes  the  Mystic  a very 
interesting  stream.  The  shores  being,  for  the  most  part, 
not  easily  accessible  at  present,  the  land  is  cheap,  and  con- 
sequently liable  to  occupancy  of  an  undesirable  character 
which  might  make  the  stream  a great  nuisance  for  the 
surrounding  communities.  Medford,  in  fact,  has  had  very 
disagreeable  experiences  in  this  respect,  owing  to  the  pollu- 
tion of  the  river  by  the  tanning  establishments  and  other 
manufactories  in  Woburn  and  Winchester. 

The  exercise  of  foresight  in  obtaining  the  margins  of  this 
stream  might  permanently  establish  the  character  of  the 
surroundings  for  good,  and  furnish  the  residents  of  the 
adjacent  communities  with  their  most  agreeable  route  to 
the  sea. 

4.  The  Natural  Park  for  Everett  and  Charlestown. 

Probably  the  most  important  feature  of  the  lower  Mystic 
River  country,  as  offering  great  potentialities  for  recreative 
purposes,  is  the  region  of  upland  and  marsh  situated  mostly 
within  the  limits  of  Everett,  and  of  which  the  Van  Voorhes 
farm  forms  the  most  conspicuous  feature.  A public  reser- 
vation for  recreative  purposes  at  this  place  would  be  of  great 


42 


METROPOLITAN  PARKS, 


[Jan. 


value  to  the  people  of  the  Charlestown  district  of  Boston 
just  across  the  river,  as  well  as  to  those  of  Everett  and 
Chelsea,  a portion  of  the  marshy  territory  lying  within  the 
limits  of  the  latter  city,  across  the  creek  known  as  the  Island 
End  River,  with  which  it  might  be  connected  by  bridge. 
The  national  government  has  an  extensive  reservation  of 
beautiful  landscape  character  devoted  to  the  use  of  its  naval 
and  marine  hospitals  on  the  borders  of  the  Mystic  in  Chelsea. 
It  is  possible  that  the  consent  of  the  government  might  be 
obtained  to  the  use  of  an  esplanade  along  the  river  front  of 
this  territory,  in  which  case  the  pleasure  ground  beyond 
would  be  accessible  to  the  people  of  Chelsea  and  East  Boston. 

At  present  this  may  seem  a little  remote  for  the  people  of 
Everett,  but  it  should  be  borne  in  mind  that  merely  local 
open  spaces  of  the  playground  type  are  not  now  under 
consideration.  Its  comparative  inaccessibility  probably 
accounts  for  the  fact  that  it  has  not  been  covered  with 
dwellings  long  since,  like  the  most  of  the  surface  in  that  city 
of  remarkable  growth,  the  first  community  in  the  State  in 
its  percentage  of  increase  according  to  the  census  of  1890,  — 
166.1  per  cent.  ; population,  4,159  in  1880,  11,068  in  1890. 

This  is  the  most  beautiful  landscape  feature  within  the 
limits  of  Everett,  and  is  capable  of  becoming  a most  precious 
possession ; for  it  is  so  situated  that  the  prevailing  winds  of 
the  summer  sweep  thither  across  a broad  stretch  of  water, 
over  which  they  would  come  laden  with  refreshing  coolness. 
Such  a locality  should  be  considered,  not  from  the  point  of 
view  of  its  present  relation  to  the  neighboring  populations, 
but  for  what  it  may  become.  And  the  map  will  show  that 
it  could  be  easily  connected  by  pleasant  routes  with  the 
centre  of  Everett’s  population,  and  brought  within  a really 
short  distance  thereof. 


5.  The  Upper  Mystic : Mystic  Lakes , Woburn  and 
Winchester. 

Another  most  attractive  landscape  portion  of  the  Mystic 
valley  is  the  neighborhood  of  the  Mystic  lakes,  now  chiefly 


< ! It  | 

I ft  If 


13.  The  Sea-Front  at  Brighton, 


1893.] 


HOUSE  — ]ST0.  150. 


43 


occupied  by  large  residence  estates,  which  the  pressure  of 
population  must  sooner  or  later  force  to  be  cut  up  into  sub- 
urban lots.  A policy  that  would  secure  the  shores  of  these 
lakes  to  public  use,  with  roads  and  walks  brought  as  near 
the  water  as  practicable  and  the  intervening  lots  reserved  to 
the  public,  would  secure  development  of  the  surrounding 
territory  in  a way  that  would  make  it  of  permanent  attrac- 
tiveness. 

The  upper  valley  of  the  Mystic,  from  Horn  Pond  down  to 
the  upper  Mystic  Lake,  presents  a complicated  problem  by 
reason  of  the  miscellaneous  character  of  its  occupancy,  which 
has,  to  a great  extent,  defaced  the  natural  beauty  of  a land- 
scape originally  remarkably  fine.  In  spots  much  of  this 
remains,  as  in  portions  of  Winter  and  Wedge  ponds  in 
Winchester,  and  particularly  the  banks  of  the  Abbajona 
near  the  stately  town  hall  and  the  picturesque  little  Episcopal 
chapel  of  that  place. 

The  town  of  Winchester  has  lately  taken  measures  looking 
towards  dealing  with  this  problem  comprehensively.  Pos- 
sibly its  solution  may  not  be  so  difficult  as  on  the  face  it 
appears.  At  all  events,  it  cannot  be  of  so  costly  a character 
as  that  which  Boston  and  Brookline  have  had  to  contend 
with  in  the  reclamation  of  the  Muddy  River  valley. 

6.  The  Middlesex  Fells . 

One  of  the  most  celebrated  tracts  under  consideration  is 
the  wild,  rocky  and  woodland  region  known  as  “the  Mid- 
dlesex Fells,”  situated  in  the  cities  of  Medford  and  Malden, 
and  the  towns  of  Melrose,  Stoneham  and  Winchester.  This 
territory  has  been  more  prominently  brought  to  public  atten- 
tion as  a place  demanding  reservation  for  the  use  of  the 
people  than  any  other  landscape  feature  in  the  metropolitan 
district.  The  efforts  of  the  late  Elizur  Wright  were  for  many 
years  untiringly  directed  in  behalf  of  this  beneficent  project. 
His  home  in  Medford  lay  on  the  verge  of  the  Fells  at  the 
foot  of  Pine  Hill,  an  eminence  of  noble  contour  on  the  south- 
erly margin  of  the  territory.  His  children  have  devoted 


44 


METROPOLITAN  PARKS. 


[Jan, 


themselves  to  realizing  what  was  probably  the  most  ardent 
desire  of  his  declining  years,  and  Miss  Ellen  Wright  and  Mr. 
Walter  C.  Wright  propose,  in  case  the  conversion  of  the 
Fells  into  a public  domain  is  brought  about,  to  give  two  of 
the  finest  woodland  and  hilltop  tracts  in  the  territory,  amount- 
ing to  something  like  forty  acres. 

The  Fells  forms  a region  of  great  natural  beauty,  which 
has  long  served  as  a recreation  ground  for  the  large  popula- 
tion in  its  immediate  neighborhood, — already  numbering 
nearly  one  hundred  thousand,  — while  it  is  a favorite  resort 
for  excursionists  from  Boston,  Cambridge  and  other  localities 
farther  removed.  Population  is  now  pressing  against  its 
borders  so  closely  that  the  problem  may  well  be  termed 
urgent,  and  it  is  made  the  more  so  by  the  fact  that  the  cheap- 
ness of  land  in  various  portions  has  induced  a tendency  to 
occupy  it  with  a correspondingly  cheap  class  of  buildings. 

The  extremely  rocky  and  broken  character  of  the  greater 
part  of  the  territory  makes  it  unsuitable  for  occupation  for 
residence  purposes,  except  at  a very  great  outlay  for  the 
construction  of  streets  and  for  other  preparations.  There- 
fore its  occupation  in  the  way  mentioned  promises  at  no 
distant  day  to  present  for  the  surrounding  communities  a 
problem  which  will  be  costly  to  deal  with.  Important 
features  of  this  region  are  Spot  Pond,  which  furnishes 
a water  supply  for  the  cities  of  Malden  and  Medford  and 
the  town  of  Melrose,  and  the  two  beautiful  reservoirs  of 
irregular  outline  that  supply  the  town  of  Winchester. 
These  cities  and  towns  have,  for  the  protection  and  increase 
of  their  water  supplies,  taken  a large  portion  of  the  territory. 
In  addition,  the  town  of  Stoneham  has  recently  taken  Bear 
Hill,  the  highest  eminence  in  the  Fells,  together  with  neigh- 
boring land,  for  park  purposes.  And  bordering  the  Ravine 
Road  to  the  eastward  of  Spot  Pond,  the  beautiful  tract  of 
woodland  called  44  the  Virginia  wood”  has  lately  been  pre- 
sented to  the  trustees  of  public  reservations.  Through  these 
various  instrumentalities,  therefore,  something  like  sixteen 
hundred  acres  of  land  and  water  in  the  Fells  have  become 
public  property. 


1893.] 


HOUSE  — No.  150. 


45 


To  unite  the  scattered  portions  and  obtain  their  most 
desirable  features  would  require  the  taking  of  from  one 
thousand  to  fifteen  hundred  acres  in  addition.  Therefore 
the  magnitude  of  the  undertaking  is  fortunately  not  so  great, 
and  the  problem  itself  not  so  difficult  to  solve,  as  it  appeared 
to  be  ten  years  ago.  The  main  consideration  that  now  pre- 
sents itself  is  to  secure  the  needed  lands  before  it  becomes 
too  late. 

In  the  neighborhood  of  the  Fells,  lying  in  Malden  and  Mel- 
rose, is  a beautiful  private  park  known  as  Pine  Banks,  laid 
out  by  the  Hon.  E.  S.  Converse  of  Malden,  and  a favorite 
resort  for  the  neighboring  populations.  The  street  cars, 
passing  close  by,  bring  excursionists  from  as  far  away  as 
Chelsea  and  Boston. 

7.  The  Waverley  Oaks . 

Between  the  town  of  Belmont  and  the  city  of  Waltham  lie 
the  celebrated  Waverley  oaks.  They  are  mostly  within  the 
limits  of  the  latter  municipality,  and  occupy  a park-like 
pastoral  region  of  extraordinary  beauty,  the  oaks  forming 
what  is  regarded  by  the  best  authorities  as  the  finest  group 
of  those  trees  in  New  England. 

The  little  stream  now  commonly  known  as  “ Clematis 
Brook,”  but  which  the  poet  Lowell  celebrated  as  4 ‘Beaver 
Brook”  in  one  of  his  most  beautiful  lyrics,  runs  through  the 
Fells.  The  cascade  that  formed  the  subject  of  Lowell’s  poem 
lies  a short  distance  up  the  stream  near  the  oaks.  The  stream, 
the  falls,  the  trees  and  the  noble  contour  of  the  landscape, 
together  with  the  fact  that  the  place  lies  in  the  immediate 
neighborhood  of  a rapidly  growing  population,  with  the 
city  of  Waltham  not  far  away,  and  Boston,  Cambridge  and 
Somerville  accessible  by  rail,  make  it  extremely  desirable 
that  this  spot  should  be  secured  for  the  public. 

8.  Prospect  Hill . 

In  Waltham,  to  the  north-westward  of  the  centre  of  the 
city’s  population,  lies  the  noble  eminence  of  Prospect  Hill, 


46 


METROPOLITAN  PARKS. 


[Jan. 


the  greatest  elevation  in  the  neighborhood  of  Boston  after 
the  Blue  Hills.  Very  fortunately  it  appears  that  the  park 
commission  of  Waltham,  lately  constituted,  promises  to 
attend  to  the  reservation  of  this  very  desirable  feature, 
leaving  as  a subject  for  metropolitan  consideration  the  im- 
mensely important  matter  of  the  Charles  River,  in  which 
Waltham  is  naturally  deeply  concerned. 


iy. 

The  Charles  River. 

The  question  of  the  proper  treatment  of  the  Charles 
River  so  as  best  to  serve  the  interests  of  the  entire  com- 
munity is  a problem  of  the  greatest  importance,  involving 
matters  both  of  recreation  and  of  grave  sanitary  import. 
The  river,  for  a large  part  of  its  course,  flows  through  the 
centre  of  the  population  of  the  metropolitan  district.  The 
question  of  how  to  protect  it  from  pollution  has  lately  come 
to  the  front.  In  its  lower  reaches,  particularly,  the  unsani- 
tary condition  of  its  flats  and  its  shores  has  made  it  a 
serious  nuisance  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  neighboring  cities 
and  towns. 

The  portion  of  the  stream  that  chiefly  concerns  the  metro- 
politan district  is  that  flowing  between  the  town  of  Dedham 
and  the  lowest  bridge  that  crosses  it  between  Boston  and  the 
Charlestown  district.  The  river  in  this  portion  of  its  course 
is  very  tortuous.  The  cities  of  Boston,  Newton,  Waltham, 
Cambridge  and  Somerville,  and  the  towns  of  Dedham,  Need- 
ham, Wellesley,  Weston  and  Watertown,  border  upon  it. 
It  forms  the  south-westerly  boundary  of  Boston,  between  the 
West  Roxbury  district,  Dedham  and  Needham.  It  bounds 
the  city  of  Newton  for  the  greater  part  of  the  way  on  three 
sides,  and  flows  through  the  heart  of  the  most  populous  sec- 
tion of  the  city  of  Waltham. 


is. 


1 i'  K- 

i*  ( U U 7 I 


14.  Beaver  Brook  Oaks,  Waverley.  After  a photograph  by  Henry  Brooks. 


1893.] 


HOUSE  — No.  150. 


47 


1.  Pollution  of  the  Stream. 

The  sewage  of  the  cities  of  Cambridge  and  a portion  of 
Somerville  and  of  a greater  part  of  the  Charlestown  district 
of  Boston,  together  with  a portion  of  the  Back  Bay  and 
Brighton  districts,  now  flows  into  the  river,  and  the  sedi- 
mentary deposit  thus  left  upon  the  flats  causes  most  offensive 
nuisances  all  the  way  from  Watertown  along  the  tidal  por- 
tion of  the  stream  down  to  deep  water. 

It  should  be  remembered,  however,  that  the  getting  rid  of 
this,  the  most  serious  element  in  the  river’s  contamination, 
is  a question  of  but  a very  short  time  ; for,  on  the  completion 
of  the  Metropolitan  sewerage  system,  now  well  under  way, 
all  this  sewage  will  be  carried  out  to  deep  water,  far  out  in 
the  bay,  leaving  the  tidal  flow  in  the  river  free  from  further 
danger  of  pollution.  Along  here,  therefore,  there  would 
only  be  the  deposits  already  existing  upon  the  flats  and 
banks  to  be  looked  after,  together  with  the  pollution  that 
comes  from  further  up  the  stream.  As  Newton,  Waltham 
and  Watertown  are  also  to  be  taken  care  of  by  the  Metropol- 
itan sewerage  system,  the  contamination  of  the  fresh- water 
portion  of  the  stream  from  those  communities  will  be 
avoided.  There  remains,  however,  the  pollution  from  fac- 
tories and  other  sources  from  the  various  communities  bor- 
dering the  river  from  Milford  down.  These,  while  perhaps 
still  serious,  are  relatively  slight  in  comparison  with  the 
contamination  whose  prevention  is  already  assured,  and  can 
therefore  be  taken  care  of  with  correspondingly  slight 
difficulty. 


2.  The  Menace  of  Malaria. 

But,  with  all  these  sources  of  contamination  eliminated, 
there  yet  remains  one  of  the  greatest  menaces  to  public 
health,  and  that  is  the  malarial  troubles  which  have  arisen  in 
the  valley  of  the  river  within  the  past  decade. 

Malaria  was  previously  unknown  in  this  portion  of  New 


48 


METROPOLITAN  PARKS. 


[elan. 


England,  but  the  trouble  has  been  gradually  creeping  this 
way  from  the  westward  and  southward,  until  its  germs  now 
appear  to  be  well  established  in  various  sections  of  the 
country  around  Boston,  particularly  in  the  valley  of  the 
Charles  River,  where  it  is  recognized  as  one  of  the  most 
serious  of  evils.  It  hardly  need  be  said  that  too  decisive 
and  radical  measures  cannot  be  taken  to  remove  this  danger, 
which,  if  allowed  to  establish  itself  permanently,  will  prove 
a fearful  detriment  to  the  various  cities  and  towns  which  it 
afflicts,  the  possible  damage  from  which  is  beyond  estimate. 

It  is  evident,  therefore,  that  the  earliest  precautions  are 
needed  to  guard  against  this  danger.  While  the  causes  of 
malarial  disease  do  not  yet  appear  to  be  definitely  known,  it 
seems  to  be  pretty  generally  agreed  that  a main  source  of 
the  trouble  lies  in  improperly  drained  soils,  and  that  the 
germs  of  the  malady  originate  in  the  low  and  damp  lands  of 
river  borders  and  swamps,  whence  they  are  carried  by  pre- 
vailing winds  to  neighboring  uplands,  where,  although  the 
immediate  conditions  of  the  soil  may  be  sanitary,  the  residents 
appear  to  suffer  to  the  greatest  extent.  The  changes  of  a 
season  in  the  level  of  bodies  of  fresh  water,  the  exposure  of 
flats  and  swamps  covered  at  higher  stages  to  the  sun  and 
warm  winds  of  summer,  and  the  consequent  decay  of  vege- 
table matter,  are  believed  to  aggravate,  if  not  cause,  the 
malady. 

Merely  keeping  the  pollution  out  of  a stream,  therefore,  does 
not  reach  the  seat  of  this  most  serious  trouble.  The  banks 
of  the  stream  must  be  brought  completely  under  public 
control,  for  only  in  this  way  can  their  sanitary  character  be 
properly  assured.  For  instance,  growing  vegetation,  and 
particularly  a tree  covering,  is  believed  to  do  much  towards 
diminishing  malarial  infection  through  the  offices  which 
vegetable  growth  performs  in  eliminating  noxious  elements 
from  the  soil  and  water.  Such  a growth  can  best  be  assured 
only  by  the  comprehensive  and  well-considered  methods  of 
treatment  which  are  possible  only  under  a public  ownership, 
and  to  this  end  the  entire  banks  of  a stream  ought  to  be  in 
the  charge  of  one  central  authority. 


15.  Charles  River  at  Riverside  Station. 


1893.] 


HOUSE  — No.  150. 


49 


3.  Recreative  Value  of  the  River. 

The  recreative  value  of  a river  like  the  Charles  is  also  a 
matter  of  great  importance  to  a large  community  like  that 
inhabiting  the  metropolitan  district.  The  stretch  of  the 
river,  for  instance,  between  Eiverside  station  in  Newton  and 
the  city  of  Waltham,  is  one  of  the  great  metropolitan  pleasure 
grounds  of  Boston.  Something  over  eight  hundred  pleasure 
craft  of  various  kinds  are  kept  on  this  section  of  the 
Charles  alone.  It  is  frequented  by  thousands  through- 
out the  summer  for  rowing,  canoeing  and  other  forms  of 
aquatic  recreation,  and  it  presents  one  of  the  most  beautiful 
and  attractive  sights  in  the  country,  with  its  irregular  shores 
covered  for  the  most  part  with  trees  and  shrubbery,  varied 
at  intervals  by  lawns  and  handsome  houses  and  long,  calm 
reaches  of  water,  now  spread  out  into  lake-like  expanses  and 
now  contracted  into  narrow  channels,  covered  with  hundreds 
of  canoes  and  other  craft  gliding  swiftly  up  and  down  the 
stream. 

The  extent  to  which  water  recreation  of  this  character 
serves  a great  metropolitan  population  is  exemplified  by  the 
use  made  of  the  Thames  above  London,  where  there  are 
thousands  of  licensed  pleasure  craft  of  various  kinds ; and 
the  most  convenient  means  of  passing  up  and  down  stream 
are  provided  in  the  way  of  locks  and  44  run- ways/’  the  latter 
enabling  an  ordinary  boat  to  be  carried  to  a different  level 
with  a delay  of  only  a minute  or  so.  An  accompanying 
illustration  (Plate  18)  shows  one  of  these  44  run- ways.”  It 
will  be  observed  that  it  is  provided  with  rollers  to  facilitate 
the  easy  carrying  of  boats  between  different  levels  of  the 
river.  At  the  top  of  the  ways  is  a sort  of  44  teeter-board,” 
so  that  the  boat  will  not  be  strained  on  making  the  change 
of  inclination.  It  is  evident  that  the  adoption  of  a device 
of  this  sort  on  the  streams  near  Boston  would  immensely 
increase  their  recreative  use  and  value. 

The  Charles  Kiver  is  capable  of  similar  utilization  through- 
out its  metropolitan  course,  and  it  thus  would  not  only 
greatly  promote  the  welfare  of  the  people  by  affording  one 


50 ' 


METROPOLITAN  PARKS. 


[Jan. 


of  the  most  healthful  means  of  recreation,  but  the  attractive- 
ness of  the  stream  would  also  add  enormously  to  the  value 
of  the  surrounding  land.  For  the  proper  conservation  of 
a stream  having  the  character  of  the  Charles,  the  amount 
of  land  necessary  to  be  taken  would  be  governed  by  local 
circumstances,  more  being  required  in  one  place  and  less  in 
another.  Any  one  familiar  with  what  has  been  done  by  Ger- 
man communities  along  the  banks  of  their  rivers  in  the 
beautiful  Anlagen,  almost  universally  existing  in  such  local- 
ities in  that  country,  will  see  that  at  many  places  all  that  is 
needed  to  meet  the  purpose  is  to  secure  a strip  of  but  a few 
rods  in  width  along  the  banks,  providing  perhaps  no  more 
than  a footway,  and  creating  a feature  of  remarkable  beauty 
at  slight  expense.  The  interference  with  present  occupancy 
of  the  banks,  where  such  occupancy  is  of  an  inoffensive 
nature,  need  for  the  most  part  be  but  very  slight.  But  the 
main  thing  is  to  assure  the  permanent  good  character  of 
such  occupancy ; and  the  passing  of  a strip  of  the  shore 
into  the  hands  of  the  public  will  prove  a benefit  not  only 
to  the  community  in  general,  but  also  to  the  abutters  in  par- 
ticular, saving  them  from  the  danger  of  the  intrusion  of  un- 
desirable features  into  their  neighborhood,  and  the  destruc- 
tion of  present  elements  of  marked  attractiveness.  Above 
all,  where  there  exists  what  is  practically  a great  public 
recreation  ground  like  that  stretch  of  the  river  between 
Riverside  and  Waltham,  it  is  of  the  greatest  importance  to 
assure  permanently  the  most  favorable  conditions  for  its 
enjoyment ; the  present  beauty  of  the  landscape  free  from 
the  danger  of  injury,  and  opportunity  provided  to  im- 
prove the  sanitary  character  of  the  stream  and  its  shores. 
There  have  already  been  causes  for  grave  apprehension  in 
the  latter  respect.  It  is  a matter  of  paramount  importance 
that  the  enjoyment  of  the  river  by  the  multitudes  that 
resort  here  should  be  truly  recreative,  and  not  permitted  to 
become  a menace  to  public  health. 


1893.] 


HOUSE— No.  150. 


51 


4 . Utilitarian  Ends  best  served  by  Recreative  Means . 

Although  the  problem  presented  by  the  Charles  River  is 
therefore  primarily  of  a sanitary  nature,  it  does  not  follow 
that  a purely  utilitarian  method  of  treatment  is  in  any 
respect  the  one  best  adapted  to  reach  the  ends  desired.  We 
have  seen  how  important  it  is  that  the  banks*  should  be 
secured,  in  order  fully  to  control  the  stream  and  conserve  it 
in  the  best  possible  manner.  As  in  the  case  of  the  great 
improvement  with  which  Boston  began  its  new  park  system, 
it  appears  that  the  cheapest  and  most  efficient  way  to  remedy 
the  evils  complained  of  is  to  adapt  the  stream  to  a utiliza- 
tion for  recreative  purposes  in  the  best  possible  way. 

This  course  was  adopted  by  Boston  in  its  handling  of  the 
Stony  Brook  drainage  problem  ; and  in  the  same  way  another 
sanitary  problem,  that  of  the  Muddy  River  valley  between 
Brookline  and  Boston,  was  dealt  with  jointly  by  these  two 
communities.  Both  of  these  were,  first  of  all,  engineering 
questions,  but,  had  they  been  treated  merely  as  such,  — that 
is,  had  the  waters  of  those  streams  been  conducted  away  in 
sewers  or  canals,  — the  expense  would  have  been  much  greater 
than  it  has  been,  while  the  solution  would  have  been  exceed- 
ingly unsatisfactory.  The  cheapest  way  turned  out  to  be 
the  most  beautiful  way : the  development  of  the  valleys  of 
these  streams,  so  far  as  they  were  to  be  dealt  with  in  their 
respective  regions,  for  recreative  purposes.  By  making 
them  the  basis  for  a grand  parkway,  they  were  also  made  to 
serve  the  enjoyment  of  the  public,  the  water  being  conducted 
in  open  winding  channels,  simulating  the  course  of  a natural 
stream,  while  low  marshy  basins  were  provided  for  the  over- 
flow to  which  Stony  Brook  was  at  times  subject,  much  to 
the  damage  of  the  surrounding  territory. 

So  it  happened  that  while  this  improvement  fulfilled  the 
demands  for  more  efficient  drainage  in  the  best  possible  way, 
it  contributed  greatly  to  the  enjoyment  and  convenience  of 
the  public  by  giving  an  agreeable  approach  to  the  outlying 
parks  of  the  new  system;  while  the  landscape  character  of 
the  territory,  having  been  made  permanently  beautiful,  has 


52 


METROPOLITAN  PARKS. 


[Jan. 


added  enormously  to  the  value  of  real  estate  throughout  the 
entire  neighborhood.  This  indicates  the  proper  course  to 
be  pursued  in  relation  to  the  Charles  River. 


5.  Present  Conditions  of  the  River. 

An  examination  of  that  portion  of  the  river  comprising  its 
tidal  reaches,  lying  between  the  lower  bridges  and  the  dam 
at  Watertown,  exhibits  at  first  sight  what  appears  to  be  a 
pretty  discouraging  state  of  affairs.  The  steadily  increasing 
pollution  of  the  stream  has  made  it  an  obnoxious  feature  of 
the  adjacent  communities,  and  in  the  treatment  it  has  lately 
received  there  is  manifest  the  contempt  or  dislike  generated 
by  such  a condition  of  things,  very  different  from  the  respect 
shown  for  the  stream  in  the  earlier  days,  when  it  was  a main 
channel  of  intercourse. 

One  observes  all  sorts  of  ugly  growths  and  developments 
upon  the  shores.  Land  has  been  cheapened  in  consequence 
of  the  nuisances  arising  from  the  river,  and  therefore  it  has 
been  occupied  in  many  places  by  various  industrial  estab- 
lishments, drawn  thither  not  because  of  the  convenience  of 
water  transportation,  but  in  consequence  of  the  low  prices  at 
which  locations  could  be  obtained.  From  Boston  to  Water- 
town  all  sorts  of  ugly  outbuildings,  shanties,  rubbish  heaps, 
etc.,  disfigure  the  banks.  Here  and  there  are  evidences  of 
the  great  attractiveness  formerly  possessed  by  the  stream. 
For  instance,  in  Cambridge,  close  by  a stoneyard  located  on 
the  shore  for  the  reasons  aforementioned,  may  be  seen  the 
rather  forlorn  remnants  of  what  must  once  have  been  a very 
charming  bit  of  natural  scenery,  with  some  of  the  wild 
growth  still  remaining,  while  the  neighborhood  is  shown, 
by  the  character  of  the  houses,  to  have  been  until  recently  a 
first-class  residence  section. 

At  the  other  end  of  the  estuary  in  Watertown  is  what 
was  once  a noble  country  seat  with  extensive  grounds  ter- 
raced up  from  the  river  to  the  house,  a large  and  stately 
mansion  built  to  face  the  stream,  showing  the  respect  in 
which  the  river  was  held  in  the  earlier  half  of  the  present 


-o 


16.  Charles  River  in  Newton  and  Weston.  After  a photograph  by  Charles  Wells  Hubbard. 


1893.] 


HOUSE  — No.  150. 


53 


century,  when  this  place  was  laid  out.  At  present  the  ten- 
dency in  that  neighborhood  is  to  avoid  the  river  as  one  of 
the  most  undesirable  characteristics  of  the  town. 

To  restore  the  old  state  of  things  and  improve  upon  them 
should  be  the  aim  in  whatever  is  done  towards  settling  the 
problem  now  presented  by  the  stream.  This  is  a task  not 
so  gigantic  or  difficult  as  it  at  first  appears,  in  view  of  the 
unpleasant  character  which  the  banks  of  the  Charles  now 
bear.  The  excrescences  and  scars  that  at  present  so  mar 
the  landscape  are,  happily,  matters  that  could  be  easily 
removed  at  a relatively  slight  expense,  and  the  task  of  restor- 
ing the  beauty  of  the  shores  along  those  portions  of  the 
stream  that  lie  beyond  the  points  where  the  strictly  urban 
nature  of  its  surroundings  gives  way  to  a suburban  and 
rural  aspect  need  not  be  an  exceedingly  expensive  one. 

In  the  lower  portion  of  the  river,  along  the  broad  basin 
between  Boston  and  Cambridge,  the  capabilities  of  the 
stream  are  now  well  appreciated,  and  undertakings  already 
in  hand,  or  projected,  will  take  care  of  most  of  that  part  of 
the  Charles. 


6.  Existing  Public  Holdings  bordering  the  Charles . 

An  inquiry  into  the  amount  of  public  and  quasi-public 
holdings  along  the  Charles  throughout  its  metropolitan 
course  shows  them  to  be  more  numerous  and  extensive  than 
has  been  supposed.  Their  existence  consequently  diminishes 
by  so  much  the  magnitude  of  the  problem. 

We  have,  for  instance,  on  the  Boston  side,  the  Charles- 
bank,  already  created  between  the  Craigie  and  the  West 
Boston  bridges,  while  it  is  proposed  to  extend  the  embank- 
ment along  the  entire  Boston  shore  up  to  the  point  where 
the  Bay  State  road  has  been  laid  out  by  the  board  of  survey 
along;  the  margin,  of  the  river. 

On  the  Cambridge  side  the  Charles  River  Embankment 
Company  is  taking  care  of  a considerable  stretch  of  territory 
both  above  and  below  the  Harvard  bridge,  and  developing  it 
for  first-class  residence  purposes,  with  an  esplanade  two 


54 


METROPOLITAN  PARKS. 


[Jan. 


hundred  feet  wide  along  the  sea-wall  now  under  construction. 
Further  up  on  the  Cambridge  side  we  have  the  Longfellow 
Memorial  Garden,  the  public  landing  near  Mount  Auburn, 
and  then  the  two  cemeteries. 

In  Watertown  there  are  the  extensive  arsenal  grounds 
of  the  national  government,  bordering  the  river  for  a long 
distance,  and  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  stream,  near  the 
dam,  the  town  owns  a considerable  stretch  where  the  ancient 
public  landing  and  fishery  rights  were  located.  Again,  on 
the  Boston  side  in  Brighton,  there  is  “the  Soldiers  Field,” 
lately  presented  to  Harvard  University  by  Henry  Lee  Hig- 
ginson,  and  adjoining  is  an  extensive  tract  of  marsh  land  also 
belonging  to  the  University. 

Along  the  fresh- water  course  of  the  stream,  in  Waltham, 
that  city  owns  a considerable  area  around  the  pumping  station 
of  the  water  works  near  Mount  Feake ; near  by  is  the  Mount 
Feake  cemetery. 

From  a short  distance  above  Newton  Lower  Falls  up  into 
Dedham,  in  Newton,  Needham,  Dedham  and  Boston,  the  city 
of  Newton  and  the  town  of  Brookline  have  taken  nearly  the 
entire  territory  bordering  the  stream  on  both  sides  for  the 
protection  of  their  water  supply.  Newton  alone  holds  some- 
thing over  nine  hundred  acres,  comprising  the  large  extent 
of  upland  on  the  Needham  side,  as  well  as  the  meadows 
bordering  the  river.  Then  in  the  Boston  city  limits,  in  the 
West  Roxbury  district,  opposite  Dedham,  Boston  has  taken 
something  like  twenty-five  acres  as  a site  for  its  new  parental 
school.  The  existence  of  these  extensive  reservations  sim 
plifies  the  problem  to  a considerable  extent. 


7.  The  Hemlock  Gorge  at  Echo  Bridge . 

One  of  the  most  beautiful  landscape  features  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  Boston,  and  something  unique  in  its  way,  is  the 
spot  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  bridge  carrying  the  Sudbury 
aqueduct  of  the  Boston  water  system  across  the  Charles, 
widely  known  as  “ Echo  Bridge,”  and  so  called  on  account 
of  its  wonderful  echoes.  This  is  the  wild  and  romantic 


1893.] 


HOUSE — -No.  150. 


55 


“ Hemlock  Gorge,”  where  the  stream  retains  much  of  its 
primitive  aspect,  with  steep  banks  of  conglomerate  rock, 
clothed  for  the  most  part  with  a magnificent  growth  of  hem- 
lock, the  whole  forming  an  extraordinarily  beautiful  land- 
scape feature  which  should  be  preserved  intact  for  the  enjoy- 
ment of  the  public  forever. 


y. 


Features  of  the  South  Metropolitan  Region.  — The 
Neponset  River. 

Another  element  of  importance  in  the  water  courses  of  the 
metropolitan  district  is  the  Neponset  River.  That  portion 
of  the  stream  which  immediately  concerns  the  work  of  the 
commission  lies  between  the  village  of  Readville,  in  the  town 
of  Hyde  Park,  and  the  sea.  The  river  flows  through  the 
centre  of  population  in  Hyde  Park,  where  it  receives,  through 
the  largely  artificial  water  way  known  as  Mother  Brook,  a 
great  portion  of  the  waters  of  the  Charles.  Then,  first 
forming  the  boundary  between  Hyde  Park  and  Milton  and 
afterwards  the  line  between  the  Dorchester  district  of 
Boston  on  one  side  and  Milton  and  Quincy  on  the  other,  it 
reaches  Dorchester  Bay  between  Commercial  Point  and 
Squantum. 

As  far  down  as  the  Lower  Mills  its  waters  are  fresh,  and 
beyond  that  it  is  an  estuary,  bringing  the  head  of  navigation 
to  a point  directly  below  the  dam. 

It  is  a stream  with  a decided  character  of  its  own.  Its  fall 
from  Hyde  Park  to  the  sea-level  is  comparatively  abrupt,  so 
that  it  is  broken  at  frequent  intervals  in  its  course  by  a 
series  of  dams,  giving  water  power  to  various  factories.  On 
either  side  the  highways  pass  not  far  from  its  banks, 
approaching  them  very  closely  in  places.  Its  shores  are 
well  clothed  with  trees  and  shrubbery,  and  present  many 
picturesque  passages.  The  lower  reaches  of  the  stream, 
with  its  expanse  of  bordering  marshes  and  abrupt  uplands, 
present  views  of  exceeding  attractiveness.  One  of  the  most 


56 


METROPOLITAN  PARKS. 


[Jan. 


notable  landscapes  in  New  England  is  that  looking  down  the 
Neponset  valley  from  Milton  Hill,  commanding  a view  of  the 
entire  course  of  the  stream  until  it  merges  in  the  bay. 

The  work  of  the  Boston  board  of  survey  on  the  left  bank 
of  the  Neponset  has  considerably  simplified  the  problem  of 
its  preservation  for  the  purposes  under  consideration.  The 
board  of  survey,  in  its  system  of  highways  designed  for  this 
district,  has  laid  out  a broad  riverside  drive  following  very 
nearly  the  course  of  the  stream  from  Neponset  village,  near 
its  mouth,  nearly  to  the  Lower  Mills,  and  it  would  be  a 
matter  of  slight  expense  to  take  the  land  intervening  between 
this  road  and  the  water. 

As  the  marshes  on  the  Quincy  and  Milton  side,  with 
their  adjacent  uplands,  form  a most  important  landscape 
element  and  contribute  immensely  to  the  attractiveness  of  the 
neighborhood  as  one  of  the  most  desirable  places  of  residence 
in  the  vicinity  of  Boston,  it  is  not  too  much  to  expect  that 
local  co-operation  may  be  looked  for  in  securing  the  perma- 
nent preservation  of  these  elements  of  natural  scenery. 
From  the  nature  of  the  shore  and  the  character  of  the  com- 
munities more  immediately  interested,  it  should  be  a matter 
attended  by  no  great  difficulty  to  bring  about  the  improve- 
ment of  the  stream  in  a manner  worthy  of  its  location  and  of 
its  natural  advantages. 


1.  The  Muddy  Pond  Woods  in  West  Roxhury  and 
Hyde  Parle. 

The  attention  of  the  commissioners  was  early  called  to  a 
tract  of  striking  natural  beauty,  lying  partly  in  the  West 
Roxhury  district  of  Boston  and  partly  within  the  limits  of 
Hyde  Park.  This  tract  is  locally  known  as  the  Muddy 
Pond  woods,  from  the  small  pond  in  which  Stony  Brook, 
that  troublesome  and  costly  stream,  has  its  source.  This 
pond  makes  a pretty  tarn,  enclosed  by  crags  and  woods 
that  form  a wild  and  rocky  wilderness.  Some  of  the  trees 
are  of  recent  growth  and  others  are  magnificent  old  pines, 


i v.  V' 


17.  Boating  on  the  Thames,  near  London,  England. 


1893.] 


HOUSE  — No.  150. 


57 


through  which  run  roads  of  remarkable  beauty.  The  nota- 
ble landscape  feature  of  this  territory  lies  in  the  various 
vistas  of  the  mountain-like  Blue  Hills,  not  far  away  across 
the  Neponset  valley,  seen  in  a framework  of  wholly  sylvan 
surroundings. 

As  the  important  community  of  Hyde  Park  is  close  by, 
and  a large  population  promises  to  grow  up  on  the  Boston 
side,  this  territory,  as  a pleasure  ground  of  the  public-forest 
type,  would  be  of  great  value  to  both  communities.  It  is 
• worthy  of  note  that  it  is  enclosed  by  the  Dedham  and  Read- 
ville  branches  and  the  main  line  of  the  Providence  division  of 
the  Old  Colony  Railroad. 

Bellevue  Hill,  the  highest  point  of  land  within  the  limits 
of  Boston,  with  its  conspicuous  water  tower,  from  the  summit 
of  which  glorious  views  in  every  direction  are  obtained,  is 
very  near  this  territory,  and  the  character  of  the  hill  is  such 
that  a larger  area  should  be  reserved  for  public  use  about 
the  tower.  A parkway  connecting  the  present  Boston 
park  system  with  a public  forest  in  this  place,  running  from 
the  Arnold  Arboretum  through  West  Roxbury  by  the  way 
of  Bellevue  Hill,  would  probably  be  of  much  value  in  pro- 
viding the  pleasantest  approach  possible,  and  at  the  same 
time  opening  up  in  the  most  attractive  manner  a large  extent 
of  territory  at  present  but  sparsely  occupied. 


2.  In  West  Roxbury  and  Brookline. 

In  the  sparsely  inhabited  region  of  West  Roxbury  and 
Brookline,  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  Allandale  Spring  and 
the  Walnut  Hills  cemetery,  is  a very  beautiful  rolling  and 
park-like  country,  portions  of  which  might,  with  advantage, 
be  reserved  for  recreative  purposes.  At  present  the  lack 
of  transportation  facilities  keeps  that  portion  of  the  country 
unoccupied,  but  as  population  grows  in  that  direction  atten- 
tion will  probably  be  called  more  closely  to  the  desirability 
of  providing  an  open  space  there,  of  the  character  which  the 
beauty  of  the  landscape  invites. 


58 


METROPOLITAN  PARKS. 


[Jan. 


3 . The  Blue  Hill  Range . 

It  remains  to  refer  to  what  must  prove  one  of  the  valuable 
features  in  any  metropolitan  park  system  : the  noble  range  of 
the  Blue  Hills.  These  hills  are  the  most  conspicuous  eleva- 
tions in  this  part  of  Massachusetts,  and  present  a type  of 
scenery  which,  although  the  highest  summit  of  the  range  is 
but  six  hundred  and  thirty-five  feet  above  the  sea  level,  is 
of  really  mountain-like  character.  As  they  are  seen  with 
their  bases  almost  at  the  level  of  the  sea,  their  height 
counts  for  its  full  value.  The  hills  are  of  grand  outline,  and 
the  region  is  almost  as  much  of  a wilderness  to-day  as  it  was 
when  they  gave  the  name  to  the  Massachusetts  Bay  Colony. 
For  Massachusetts  means  “ the  place  of  the  great  hills,”  and 
this  range  was  the  landmark  that  for  the  aborigines  distin- 
guished the  bay  above  the  other  inlets  of  the  coast. 

An  examination  shows  that  it  would  be  feasible,  at  a mod- 
erate expense,  to  form  a reservation  here  that  should  include 
practically  the  entire  range,  which  is  contained,  for  the  most 
part,  within  the  limits  of  Milton,  Canton,  Quincy  and 
Braintree,  together  with  the  almost  unoccupied  country  to 
the  southward,  with  several  of  the  ponds  that  form  so 
attractive  a feature  of  the  landscape  from  the  hilltops.  This 
region  to  the  southward  is  of  particular  value  for  the  purpose 
of  a water  supply  for  Quincy,  Braintree  and  other  communi- 
ties in  that  direction. 

While  almost  uninhabited,  this  southerly  slope,  from  its 
nearness  to  Boston  and  the  cheapness  of  its  land,  is  liable  to 
abuse,  as  instanced  in  the  various  nuisances  in  the  shape  of 
piggeries  that  have  been  established  throughout  the  woods, 
which  have  proved  a source  of  great  vexation  to  the  people 
* of  Quincy.  Even  though  it  might  not  be  shown  that  these 
nuisances  caused  pollution,  the  idea  of  the  existence  of  such 
things  in  the  region  whence  a community’s  supply  of  water 
is  drawn  is  certainly  not  agreeable. 

An  element  of  abiding  value  in  a reservation  of  this 
character,  with  its  pure,  mountain-like  air,  such  as  may 
be  breathed  several  hundred  feet  above  the  sea  level, 


1893.] 


HOUSE  — No.  150. 


59 


lies  in  the  opportunities  presented  for  people  to  resort 
thither,  and  derive  corresponding  sanitary  benefits  of  a kind 
which  otherwise  might  necessitate  distant  journeys.  The 
peculiar  character  of  this  region  is  described  in  an  article 
reprinted  from  4 4 Garden  and  Forest,”  which  I append  to 
this  statement.  [See  Appendix  F.] 

YI. 

Lakes  and  Ponds  of  the  Metropolitan  District. 

The  various  lakes  and  ponds  that  abound  throughout  the 
metropolitan  district  form  features  worthy  of  special  men- 
tion. It  seems  strange  how  completely  these  most  charming 
features  of  the  landscape,  as  well  as  the  streams,  bringing 
as  they  do  the  element  of  water  into  the  scene,  have  been 
neglected  by  the  communities  that  possess  them. 

A notable  instance  of  the  value  which  such  bodies  of  water 
have  for  a community,  and  at  the  same  time  of  the  incon- 
venience arising  through  neglect  to  secure  their  margins  for 
the  use  of  the  public,  was  presented  at  the  time  of  the 
44  water  carnival”  which  took  place  in  Waltham  on  the  even- 
ing of  Sept.  17,  1891.  This  was  really  an  enchanting 
spectacle,  and  it  attracted  many  thousands  of  visitors  from 
Boston  and  the  surrounding  communities.  But  so  great 
was  the  crowd,  that,  in  the  centre  of  the  city  where  the 
shores  are  mostly  occupied  by  dwellings  — which,  as  usual, 
turn  their  backs  upon  the  stream,  showing  how  little  its  value 
has  been  appreciated  — many  hundreds  of  visitors  were  able 
to  see  but  little  if  anything  of  the  spectacle,  for  lack  of  room. 

In  like  manner  the  Mystic  River  courses  through  Medford 
in  the  same  neglected  way,  and  the  Neponset  through  Hyde 
Park. 


1.  The  Example  set  by  Wakefield  at  Lake  Quannapowitt, 

In  the  matter  of  ponds,  Lake  Quannapowitt,  in  Wakefield, 
presented  the  first,  and  until  very  recently,  the  only  instance 
where  the  possibilities  of  such  a body  of  water  as  a scene  of 


60 


METROPOLITAN  PARKS. 


[Jan. 


public  recreation,  and  in  giving  a vastly  increased  attractive- 
ness to  a community,  have  been  taken  advantage  of  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Boston.  Upon  the  shores  of  this  lake,  close 
to  the  centre  of  population,  an  extensive  public  ground  has 
been  laid  out,  while  the  main  county  highway,  as  it  runs 
beside  the  water,  is  thereby  made  a most  charming  drive, 
with  the  strip  of  land  along  the  shore  cared  for  by  the  town. 
It  may  here  be  said  that  it  would  be  worth  while  to  con- 
tinue the  work  thus  begun  by  treating  the  westerly  side  of 
the  pond  in  the  same  way,  and  by  so  doing  secure  the  per- 
manent preservation  of  its  entire  shores  in  a beautiful  and 
natural  manner.  Wakefield  here  offers  an  example  which 
other  communities  might  follow  with  profit,  and  their  leading 
citizens  could  do  nothing  better  than  to  visit  that  town  to 
see  what  has  been  done  there. 


2.  Jamaica  Pond  and  Other  Lakes. 

Boston  has  now  begun  to  improve  the  opportunity 
afforded  by  Jamaica  Pond,  the  largest  sheet  of  fresh  water 
within  the  city  limits,  and  that  lake  is  to  be  made  the 
finest  feature  of  the  city’s  grand  parkway.  Several  other 
lakes  and  water  basins  have  been  taken  advantage  of  in 
a somewhat  similar  way,  through  their  connection  with 
the  water  supplies  of  various  communities.  For  instance, 
Fresh  Pond  in  Cambridge,  the  Chestnut  Hill  reservoir  of 
Boston,  and  the  several  basins  of  the  Lynn  water  supply  in 
the  Lynn  woods,  may  be  mentioned. 

But  it  is  time  that  steps  were  taken  for  preserving  the 
borders  of  all  the  ponds  within  the  metropolitan  district, 
thus  making  them  permanently  of  service  in  the  recreation 
of  the  neighboring  communities.  Only  in  this  way  can  they 
be  prevented  from  becoming  serious  nuisances  by  the  growth 
of  thickly  settled  population  around  them,  instead  of  remain- 
ing the  most  charming  features  of  the  landscape  that  they 
naturally  are.  Specially  worthy  of  mention  in  this  connec- 
tion are  Sluice  and  Flax  ponds,  in  Lynn ; L and  Swain’s 


1893.] 


HOUSE  — No.  150. 


61 


ponds,  in  Melrose;  Winter  and  Wedge  ponds,  in  Win- 
chester ; Spy  Pond,  in  Arlington ; and  Hammond’s  Pond, 
in  Newton. 


3.  Horn  Pond  in  Woburn . 

Horn  Pond,  in  Woburn,  deserves  special  comment  from 
the  fact  that  it  lies  close  to  the  centre  of  that  city’s  popula- 
tion, and  is  the  source  of  the  local  water  supply  as  well  as  an 
extraordinarily  beautiful  feature  of  a very  attractive  land- 
scape. The  fact  that  highways  run  near  the  margin  on  two 
sides,  while  on  the  other  sides  the  land  is  apparently  of  no 
great  value,  should  render  the  proper  treatment  of  this  lake 
something  easily  carried  out.  The  water  supply  of  Woburn 
is  drawn  from  this  pond  by  a filtering  gallery,  but  should 
the  pollution  of  the  pond,  already  considerable,  become 
serious,  this  filtering  process  might  become  inadequate,  and 
the  city  consequently  subject  to  a great  loss.  It  is  therefore 
extremely  desirable  that  something  should  be  done  here. 


62 


METROPOLITAN  PARKS. 


[Jan. 


PART  THIRD. 


I. 


Special  Pleasure-ways,  or  Roads  for  Light  Traffic. 

The  question  of  making  these  various  reservations  that 
have  been  under  consideration  conveniently  accessible,  not 
only  from  the  great  centre  of  population  in  Boston  but  from 
the  various  other  communities  forming  the  metropolitan 
district,  is  a matter  of  exceeding  importance.  The  various 
steam-railway  lines  approach  very  near  to  nearly  all  of  the 
localities  whose  reservation  has  been  recommended  or  sug- 
gested, and  the  street-railway  lines  also  perform  a similar 
service.  The  rapid  extension  and  multiplication  of  the  latter, 
however,  covering  the  metropolitan  district  in  all  directions, 
while  it  greatly  promotes  public  convenience  on  the  whole, 
also  complicates  the  problem  of  communication  very  materi- 
ally. It  is  important  not  only  that  these  reservations  should 
have  provided  pleasant  and  safe  means  of  access  for  driving, 
riding,  bicycling,  etc.,  but  also  that  the  matter  of  intercom- 
municating roads  between  the  communities  themselves  should 
be  similarly  looked  out  for. 


1.  Occupation  of  Highways  by  Street  Railways. 

The  manner,  however,  in  which  street  railways  have  for 
the  most  part  been  laid  out  has  very  materially  interfered 
with  the  original  and  normal  use  of  the  highways.  These 
are  now  cut  up  by  either  single  or  double  lines  of  street- 
railway  tracks,  over  which  heavy  electric  cars  rush  at  fre- 
quent intervals.  The  ordinary  traffic  is  thus  forced  into 
comparatively  narrow  limits.  In  consequence,  the  road-bed 


1893.] 


HOUSE  — No.  150. 


63 


is  badly  cut  up  into  ruts,  etc.,  and  made  uncomfortable  and 
unsafe  for  its  legitimate  purposes.  Women  and  children 
can  no  longer  drive  without  danger  over  most  of  the  roads 
in  the  neighborhood  of  Boston,  as  they  could  up  to  within  a 
few  years. 

The  question  of  providing  a special  system  of  roads  from 
which  street-railway  lines  should  either  be  excluded,  or 
assigned  special  reservations  separating  them  entirely  from 
the  ordinary  highway  traffic,  after  the  style  of  the  Beacon 
Street  boulevard  in  Brookline,  is  a question  that  presents 
itself  as  one  of  the  important  metropolitan  problems  await- 
ing solution  in  the  near  future.  It  would  seem  that  there 
should  be  a special  system  of  roads  upon  which  all  heavy 
traffic  should  be  forbidden,  and  their  use  confined  to  light 
vehicles  and  pleasure  driving.  Roads  restricted  in  this  way, 
when  once  properly  constructed,  not  being  subject  to  the 
extraordinary  wear  and  tear  of  heavy  traffic,  are  easily  kept 
in  good  condition  at  relatively  light  expense,  and  are  there- 
fore more  economically  maintained  than  roads  to  which  all 
kinds  of  traffic  are  admitted.  They  also  have  the  great 
advantage  of  being  attractive  for  the  best  class  of  residents, 
and  they  correspondingly  increase  the  taxable  value  of 
property  in  their  neighborhoods. 


2 . The  Illinois  Boulevard  Law . 

The  example  offered  by  the  city  of  Chicago  in  its  magnif- 
icent system  of  boulevards,  one  of  the  most  popular  and 
celebrated  features  of  that  city,  is  instructive.  These  boule- 
vards have  been  laid  out  and  constructed  under  the  general 
law  of  the  State,  commonly  known  as  “the  Illinois  boule- 
vard act.”  This  act  provides  that,  upon  the  consent  of 
the  municipal  authorities  having  control  of  streets  or  parts 
thereof  leading  to  any  public  park,  and  also  the  consent 
in  writing  of  the  owners  of  a majority  of  the  frontage 
of  the  lots  and  lands  abutting  on  such  streets,  so  far  as 
proposed  to  be  taken,  the  park  commissioners  shall  have 
power  to  connect  any  public  park,  boulevards  or  drive- 


64 


METROPOLITAN  PARKS. 


[Jan. 


way  under  their  control  with  any  part  of  a city,  town  or 
village,  by  taking  such  streets.  It  is  conditional  that  such 
connection  or  improvement  shall  embrace  only  such  street 
or  streets  as  are  necessary  to  form  one  continuous  improve- 
ment. 

A similar  law  in  this  State  would  not  only  tend  to  make 
public  pleasure  grounds  more  accessible,  and  therefore  of 
greater  use  and  convenience  to  the  people,  but  would  fur- 
nish the  means  for  effecting  a very  desirable  improvement  in 
our  highways. 

A consideration  of  the  present  situation  in  the  surround- 
ings of  Boston  will  show  how  very  unevenly  distributed  are 
the  advantages  in  this  respect.  The  city  itself,  and  the 
suburbs  to  the  southward  and  westward,  are  either  very  well 
provided  with  agreeable  means  of  connection  with  the  urban 
portions  and  the  rural  regions  beyond,  or  projects  have  been 
decided  upon  which  will  soon  provide  such  facilities. 

For  instance,  the  people  of  Boston,  by  the  way  of  Com- 
monwealth Avenue,  including  its  extension  to  the  Chestnut 
Hill  reservoir,  and  the  Beacon  Street  boulevard  terminating 
at  the  same  place,  have  a means  of  getting  from  almost  the 
heart  of  the  city  far  out  of  town  by  broad,  thoroughly  con- 
structed and  beautifully  situated  avenues.  Beside  this,  the 
grand  parkway  will  soon  connect  nearly  all  of  the  main 
features  of  the  city’s  new  park  system  with  each  other  and 
with  the  heart  of  the  city.  The  Marine  Park,  at  City  Point, 
will  also  be  similarly  connected  by  the  shore  drive  along 
Old  Harbor  and  the  parkway  which  joins  at  two  places  the 
great  cross-town  thoroughfare  of  East  and  West  Chester 
“ Park,”  as  it  is  most  inaptly  called. 

By  such  a law  as  that  of  Illinois,  suitable  streets  in  the 
city  proper  could  be  transferred  to  the  care  of  the  park 
commission,  and  thereby  made  very  desirable  for  residence 
purposes  ; at  the  same  time  reducing  the  cost  of  maintenance 
very  materially,  while  pleasant  means  of  getting  out  of  town 
might  be  provided  in  every  section  of  the  city.  The  carry- 
ing out  of  a boulevard  improvement  on  Blue  Hill  Avenue 
of  a character  similar  to  that  of  Beacon  Street  in  Brookline 


19.  Hemlock  Gorge,  Charles  River,  Newton  Upper  Falls.  After  a photograph  by  Francis  W.  Morandi. 


1893.] 


HOUSE  — No.  150, 


65 


promises  to  connect  the  city,  by  way  of  Franklin  Park,  with 
the  Blue  Hills  by  a beautiful  driveway,  thus  making  very 
accessible  the  public  reservation  recommended  in  that  locality. 
The  parkway  suggested  from  the  Arnold  Arboretum  by  the 
way  of  Bellevue  Hill  to  the  Muddy  Pond  woods  would  per- 
form a similar  service  for  that  section, 

3.  A Deficiency  of  Good  and  Pleasant  Boads  connecting  with 
Boston  from  the  Northward . 

When  we  turn  to  the  region  north  of  the  Charles,  we  find 
a deplorable  deficiency  in  respect  to  pleasant  and  convenient 
means  of  connection  between  the  suburban  communities  and 
the  city  proper.  There  is  at  present  absolutely  no  such  con- 
nection, unless  we  may  except  the  approach,  by  the  way  of 
some  of  the  less  frequented  streets  in  Cambridge,  from  Har- 
vard Square  and  the  region  beyond  to  the  westward  and 
northward,  and  the  Harvard  bridge.  No  clearly  defined 
route,  however,  exists  even  here.  As  for  the  rest,  the 
northerly  suburbs  are  almost  absolutely  cut  off  from  any 
agreeable  approach  to  the  city  proper.  For  instance,  the 
two  bridges  across  the  Charles  River  to  Charlestown,  and  the 
Chelsea,  Malden  and  Middlesex  bridges  across  the  Mystic, 
together  with  the  approaches  by  way  of  Medford,  form 
practically  the  only  direct  routes  to  the  city  proper  from 
any  portion  of  the  metropolitan  district  between  Lynn  and 
Winchester.  This  is  to-day  the  most  rapidly  growing  sec- 
tion of  the  district,  and  it  hardly  need  be  said  that  it  is 
detrimental,  both  to  the  interests  of  Boston  itself  and  of 
these  northerly  communities,  which  include  some  of  the 
most  attractive  natural  features  in  the  surroundings,  thus  to 
be  cut  off  from  all  pleasant  means  of  approach. 

The  suggested  pleasure  drive  down  the  Mystic  valley, 
joining  the  Chelsea  bridge  at  the  Naval  Hospital  grounds, 
would  go  far  towards  providing  one  of  the  attractive  ap- 
proaches needed  for  this  section ; for  Chelsea  bridge  will 
soon  have  to  be  made  a high-level  structure,  in  order  to 
avoid  the  crossing  of  the  numerous  tracks  of  the  Boston  & 
Maine  Railroad’s  extensive  terminals  on  the  Mystic.  Some 


66 


METROPOLITAN  PARKS. 


[Jan. 


more  agreeable  way,  however,  of  getting  across  Charles- 
town would  still  have  to  be  devised.  Possibly  the  privi- 
lege of  a driveway  inside  of  the  Navy  Yard  wall,  for  light 
traffic,  might  be  secured  from  the  national  government. 
Then  there  would  only  remain  the  short  section  between  the 
Navy  Yard  and  the  heart  of  the  city  to  be  taken  care  of, 
and  this  might  be  accomplished  by  some  such  separation  of 
the  street  traffic  of  Boston  according  to  requirements  for 
heavy  commercial  teaming  and  light  vehicles  as  has  been 
discussed  by  the  Rapid  Transit  Commission. 

A new  boulevard  or  parkway,  connecting  the  Middlesex 
Fells  with  the  city  proper,  either  by  taking  advantage  of 
existing  streets  or  laying  out,  for  a great  extent  across  un- 
occupied land,  an  entirely  new  thoroughfare,  would  be  very 
desirable.  Some  way  of  crossing  Somerville  and  Cam- 
bridge to  the  Harvard  bridge  and  the  Back  Bay  section 
of  Boston,  as  well  as  with  the  grand  parkway  to  the  city’s 
main  park  system  beyond,  could  probably  be  devised 
in  this  connection.  Such  an  approach  to  the  city  would 
be  of  immense  value  to  communities  like  Malden,  Melrose, 
Medford,  Stoneham,  Winchester,  Woburn  and  Wakefield, 
while  by  joining  it  with  a parkway  down  the  Mystic  valley, 
such  as  has  been  suggested,  it  would  also  be  of  service  to 
Everett,  Chelsea  and  the  communities  beyond. 

Still  another  important  pleasure  route  might  be  devised,  con- 
necting East  Boston  by  the  way  of  Wood  Island  Park,  Orient 
Heights  and  Beachmont  with  Revere  Beach,  and  thus  giving 
a beautiful  approach  to  Lynn,  Swampscott,  Nahant  and 
other  communities  along  the  north  shore. 

4.  A General  Parkway  Law  recommended . 

The  creation  of  a system  of  parkways  or  boulevards,  such 
as  has  here  been  suggested,  would  be  greatly  facilitated  by 
the  passage  of  such  a law  as  that  which  has  been  so  service- 
able in  Illinois.  I accordingly  submit  herewith,  for  the  con- 
sideration of  the  commissioners,  a draft  of  a bill  based  on 
the  Illinois  law,  making  its  chief  provisions  applicable  not 
only  in  the  proposed  metropolitan  district  but  throughout  the 
State.  [See  Appendix  B. ] 


V.-* 


* 


20.  The  Blue  Hills  over  Muddy  Pond  Woods. 


1893.] 


HOUSE  — No.  150. 


67 


It  is  hardly  to  be  expected,  however,  that  such  a law  by 
itself  would  bring  about  the  desired  results.  A complete 
study  of  the  needs  of  the  metropolitan  district  in  the  way  of 
the  highway  facilities  demanded  by  modern  conditions  is 
desirable.  If,  to  that  end,  at  any  time  a special  commission 
should  be  charged  with  that  function,  — a metropolitan  board 
of  survey  for  instance,  constituted  for  purposes  similar  to 
those  of  the  Boston  board  of  survey,  — much  might  be  looked 
for  through  the  co-operation  of  a permanent  Metropolitan 
Park  Commission  with  such  a body,  in  considering  the  situa- 
tion from  the  requirements  both  of  pure  utility  and  of  the 
different  interests  represented  by  the  park  commission. 

II. 

Local  Pleasure  Grounds,  Playgrounds  and  Breath- 
ing Spots. 

The  subject  of  smaller  open  spaces  for  local  playgrounds 
or  “ breathing  spots,”  as  they  are  appropriately  called,  is  one 
so  different  in  its  nature  as  to  require  a separate  considera- 
tion and  a different  method  of  treatment.  Being  more  of 
local  concern,  it  is  hardly  to  be  expected  that  they  should  be 
provided  for  by  the  same  means  proposed  for  a general  system 
of  metropolitan  parks,  the  various  features  of  which  are  of 
moment  to  the  entire  community. 

It  is  desirable  that  every  well-inhabited  section  of  the 
metropolitan  district  should  have  one  of  these  local  pleasure 
grounds  within  easy  reach,  so  that  without  difficulty  women 
and  children  can  resort  thither  from  their  homes  without  the 
least  danger  of  fatigue. 

Both  for  the  sake  of  the  children  and  for  the  convenience 
and  comfort  of  the  community  at  large  such  local  pleasure 
grounds  are  essential.  The  children  are  thereby  given 
resorts  where  they  can  safely  engage  in  their  sports  without 
danger  to  themselves  or  annoyance  to  others.  The  street  is 
too  often  the  only  playground  for  the  children  of  crowded 
neighborhoods  throughout  the  entire  metropolitan  district.  It 


68 


METROPOLITAN  PARKS. 


[Jan. 


is  evident  that  such  a use  of  the  streets  is  inevitably  attended 
by  danger  to  life  and  limb,  not  to  mention  the  equally  serious 
moral  dangers,  while  it  is  a source  of  discomfort  and  annoy- 
ance to  the  entire  population. 

Some  sections  of  the  metropolitan  district  are  now  fairly 
well  equipped  with  local  pleasure  grounds,  while  others 
have  not  made  the  slightest  provision  for  this  most  essential 
feature  of  urban  life.  Boston,  for  instance,  has  a larger 
number  of  these  small  open  spaces  than  any  other  city  in 
this  country,  with  the  exception  of  Washington.  But  even 
here  certain  sections  are  not  provided  for  at  all,  and  these 
are  sections  that  stand  most  in  need  of  such  accommodations  ; 
as,  for  instance,  the  North  End  and  the  South  Cove.  The 
arrangement  of  these  various  spots  is,  for  the  most  part, 
of  the  old-fashioned  conventional  order,  more  with  an  eye 
to  adornment  and  a merely  showy  effect  by  means  of  flower 
beds,  etc.,  rather  than  with  a view  to  their  use  by  the  people 
of  the  locality. 

1 . Model  Examples  of  Local  Pleasure  Grounds  in  Boston . 

Excellent  examples,  however,  of  what  such  local  pleasure 
grounds  should  be  — and,  indeed,  perhaps  the  best  of  their 
kind  in  the  world,  in  many  respects  — are  some  of  the  new 
grounds  that  have  been  created  by  the  park  department  of 
the  city ; for  instance,  the  Charlesbank,  the  Play  stead  of 
Franklin  Park  and  the  new  playgrounds  now  under  construc- 
tion at  Charlestown,  East  Boston,  and  in  connection  with 
the  Marine  Park  at  South  Boston. 

The  Charlesbank  may  be  cited  as  an  ideal  pleasure  ground 
of  its  sort,  providing  for  the  wants  of  a densely  populated 
neighborhood  in  a remarkably  varied  way,  giving  opportuni- 
ties for  the  restful  enjoyment  of  the  fresh  air  in  the  summer 
cooled  by  the  waters  of  the  river,  for  beholding  the  very 
interesting  spectacle  of  varied  aquatic  life,  for  the  athletic 
recreation  of  both  sexes  in  first-class  out-door  gymnasiums, 
boating  on  the  river,  provision  for  the  enjoyment  of  little 
children  and  infants  and  for  taking  care  of  them  while  their 
mothers  are  at  work.  An  institution  of  this  kind  is  one 


1893.] 


HOUSE  — No.  150. 


69 


of  the  most  beneficent  illustrations  of  what  a city  may 
properly  do  for  the  welfare  of  its  people,  and  its  influence 
is  inestimable  in  promoting  the  health  of  the  multitude  and 
in  giving  most  desirable  forms  of  out-door  enjoyment  free 
of  cost. 


PLAN  OF  THE  SOUTHERLY  PORTION  OF  THE  CHARLESBANK,  BOSTON, 
NEAR  WEST  BOSTON  BRIDGE. 


70 


METROPOLITAN  PARKS. 


[Jan. 


2.  Present  Playground  Provisions  in  Various  Communities 
of  the  Metropolitan  District . 

Turning  to  the  other  local  communities  of  the  metropolitan 
district,  Brookline  some  years  ago  adopted  the  principle  of 
local  playgrounds,  and  has  made  excellent  provisions  in  this 
respect;  but,  as  it  now  proves,  not  anywhere  near  what 
even  a community  with  such  an  exceptionally  high  average 
of  well-being,  and  consequently  abundant  opportunities  for 
home  recreation,  really  demands  in  view  of  its  rapid  develop- 
ment. 

Cambridge  has  recently  become  alive  to  the  necessity,  and 
has  just  taken  steps  toward  providing  a number  of  these 
local  pleasure  grounds  in  various  parts  of  the  city,  while  the 
development  of  the  invaluable  opportunities  presented  by 
her  river  front,  with  its  projected  esplanade,  now  under  way, 
will  prove  a priceless  blessing. 

Probably  the  most  conspicuous  instance  of  an  absolute 
neglect  to  do  anything  in  this  respect  is  furnished  by  the 
new  city  of  Everett,  which,  with  its  extraordinary  growth 
and  the  certainty  of  being  occupied  by  an  exceptionally 
dense  population,  has  yet  not  so  much  as  a square  foot  of 
public  pleasure  ground.  Other  cities  and  towns  of  the 
district  that  are  now  growing  with  remarkable  rapidity  also 
present  a deficiency  in  this  respect  almost  as  serious  as  that 
of  Everett.  Some  of  them,  however,  have  not  advanced  so 
far  in  their  change  to  urban  conditions  as  to  feel  the  need  so 
sorely  as  it  must  soon  be  felt  in  a case  like  that  cited. 


3 . Certain  Drawbacks  to  the  Suburban  Movement  as  a Rem- 
edy for  the  Evils  of  a Congested  Population . 

Allusion  has  already  been  made  to  the  fact  that  this  lack  of 
a provision  for  such  open  spaces  in  most  parts  of  the  suburbs 
promises  to  make  the  movement  of  population  from  the 
densely  inhabited  portions  of  the  city  out  into  the  more 
open  country  but  a palliative,  at  the  best,  instead  of  the 


City  of  Boston  Park  Departmei 


GENERAL  PLAN  OP 

CHARLESTOWN  PLAYGROUND 


PARK  COMMISSIONERS 
THOMAS  L.  LIVERMORE, 

FRANCIS  A.  WALKER,  PAUL  H.  KENDRICKEN. 


APPROXIMATE  AREA  OF  PLAYGROUND  8 % ACRES  , 

TOTAL  APPROXIMATE  AREA  INCLUDING  GYMNASIA 
ANO  PROMENADES  14/r  ACRES. 


1893.] 


HOUSE  — No.  150. 


71 


great  remedy  for  the  ills  of  city  life  which  some  of  our 
reformers  have  seen  in  it.  Indeed,  it  would  be  well  to 
consider,  in  the  anti-tenement-house  agitation,  that  the 
suburban  movement  has  already  converted  the  outlying 
sections  very  extensively  into  tenement-house  regions. 

In  nearly  every  direction,  not  only  in  the  suburban  wards  of 
Boston,  like  Dorchester  and  the  various  sections  of  Koxbury, 
West  Koxbury  and  Brighton,  but  almost  everywhere  through- 
out the  metropolitan  district  where  a five-cent  street-car  or 
steam-railway  fare  prevails,  as  in  Somerville,  Everett,  Cam- 
bridge, and  even  in  some  parts  of  Brookline,  huge  barrack- 
like “apartment  houses,”  so  called,  are  becoming  the  rule. 
They  are  closely  built,  with  little  or  no  ground  space  about 
them,  so  that  the  family  clothes-lines  are  strung  upon  the 
roofs.  These,  while  at  present  largely  inhabited  by  people 
in  moderate  circumstances,  offer  little  if  any  of  the  various 
advantages  of  that  suburban  life  whose  praises  are  so  elo- 
quently sounded,  and  it  does  not  require  extraordinary  pre- 
vision to  see  the  near  future  when  they  will  degenerate  into 
real  tenements,  with  all  that  the  name  implies. 

Little  more  can  be  said  in  praise  of  the  type  of  isolated 
dwellings  that  has  become  so  common  in  suburban  districts, 
occupying  long  and  desolate  streets  with  batches  of  cottages 
flimsily  constructed  by  contractors,  and  all  alike  as  so  many 
peas,  the  streets  ill  kept,  their  surroundings  cheerless,  and 
the  houses  so  huddled  together  as  to  cut  off  each  other  from 
the  sunshine,  the  fullest  enjoyment  of  which  should  be  one 
of  the  chief  advantages  of  suburban  life.  With  the  mud, 
the  dust,  and  bad  drainage  that  is  apt  to  prevail  in  such 
localities,  the  permanent  advantages  offered  by  such  dwell- 
ing places  are  doubtful  in  comparison  to  what  might  be 
obtained  in  a well-planned,  strictly  urban  neighborhood, 
with  the  good  pavements,  thorough  sewerage  and  other  con- 
veniences at  the  command  of  a dense  population  in  a city 
administered  upon  enlightened  principles.  It  has  already 
come  to  pass  that  many  of  the  suburban  neighborhoods  that 
have  been  developed  in  the  manner  just  mentioned  have  lost 
practically  all  of  the  attractiveness  belonging  to  a compara- 


72 


METROPOLITAN  PARKS. 


[Jan. 


tively  open  country  that  formed  one  of  the  main  induce- 
ments for  people  to  live  there,  and,  unless  local  pleasure 
grounds  are  provided  while  it  is  yet  time,  the  future  of  such 
a district  can  hardly  fail  to  be  a dreary  one. 

4.  Ideal  Urban  Conditions : A Combination  of  Town  and 

Country . 

An  ideal  urban  community  would  combine  the  advantages 
of  both  town  and  country,  and  there  is  an  unmistakable 
tendency  to-day  in  the  development  of  our  modern  social 
conditions  to  bring  the  country  to  the  town  and  carry  the 
town  to  the  country.  That  is,  with  the  facilities  of  quick 
transit,  our  rural  communities  are  gaining  more  and  more 
of  the  advantages  that  hitherto  have  been  exclusively  urban  ; 
while,  on  the  other  hand,  the  advantages  possessed  by  the 
natural  life  of  the  country  are  becoming  more  and  more 
appreciated  by  the  cities,  and  the  latter  are  gradually  shaping 
themselves  accordingly.  For  instance,  this  is  seen  in  the 
desire  to  get  rid  of  the  noise  and  confusion  of  city  life, 
in  the  vastly  increasing  esteem  in  which  out-door  life  and 
amusements,  and  the  athletic  development  gained  thereby, 
are  held  by  city  people,  and  the  part  which  great  parks  and 
public  gardens  are  assuming  in  the  social  economy  of  our 
cities. 

An  ideal  city  would  be  one  which  would  take  every 
possible  advantage  of  the  natural  opportunities  of  its  site, 
and  which  would  so  alternate  open  spaces  with  areas  occu- 
pied by  dwellings  that  it  would  practically  occupy  one 
vast  garden.  A city  planned  in  this  way,  beside  its  frequent 
great  parks  and  its  water-side  esplanades,  driveways  and 
other  reservations,  would  probably  have  its  houses  so 
arranged  around  pleasant  garden-like  open  spaces,  with  such 
facilities  for  out-door  enjoyment  as  we  have  mentioned,  that 
every  dwelling  would  face  upon  a pleasure  ground  of  some 
kind. 


21.  Muddy  Pond,  West  Roxbury. 


1893.] 


HOUSE  — No.  150. 


73 


5.  The  Tendencies  towards  this  Ideal  as  illustrated  in 
Boston  To-day. 

It  is  notable  that  to-day,  here  in  Boston,  this  tendency 
may  be  seen  illustrated  at  both  ends  of  the  social  scale.  For 
instance,  the  wealthy,  in  the  planning  and  location  of  their 
homes,  are  appreciating  the  advantages  derived  from  com- 
bining the  enjoyment  of  social  conveniences  in  common 
with  a more  open  situation  of  their  dwellings,  and  plenty  of 
breathing  space  around  about.  The  most  conspicuous  exam- 
ples of  this  tendency  are  afforded  in  the  “ terrace”  style,  so 
called,  extensively  adopted  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  new 
Beacon  Street  boulevard,  and  extraordinarily  popular. 

6.  Tenement  Blocks  with  Central  Garden  and  Playground 

Spaces. 

At  the  other  extreme  is  found  the  example  lately  set  in 
England  in  the  construction  and  planning  of  artisan  dwell- 
ings very  happily  followed  in  Boston.  Perhaps  the  most 
notable  English  example  is  that  of  the  Victoria  Square 
improvement,  carried  out  by  the  city  of  Liverpool.  To  get 
rid  of  a slum-like  locality  that  was  a source  of  disease  and 
crime,  the  city  condemned  the  territory,  demolished  the 
buildings,  and  built  thereupon,  around  a hollow  square, 
blocks  of  model  dwellings  for  working  people,  the  sanitary 
appliances  being  of  the  very  best  description,  and  the  central 
square  devoted  to  the  purpose  of  a garden  playground. 

This  idea  has  been  followed  by  the  Co-operative  Building 
Company  of  Boston,  which,  on  the  rectangular  lot  bounded 
by  Harrison  Avenue,  East  Lenox,  Feed  and  Newcomb 
streets,  has  built  a substantial  block  of  dwellings  about  a 
central  open  space  of  eighty  by  one  hundred  feet.  The 
apartments  are  most  conveniently  arranged,  and  are  to  be 
let  at  moderate  prices,  while  the  central  space  is  to  be  used 
for  playground  and  garden  purposes  for  the  tenants.  Under 
such  circumstances  the  evils  attendant  upon  a dense  popu- 
lation appear  to  be  very  thoroughly  overcome.  All  the 


74 


METROPOLITAN  PARKS. 


[Jan. 


Artisans'  Dwellings  erected  by  the  Municipality,  Liverpool,  England. 


1893.] 


HOUSE— No.  150. 


75 


dwellings  have  abundant  air  and  sunshine,  and  the  central 
garden  offers  an  opportunity  where  children  may  be  safely 
left  to  play  together,  while  adult  residents  may  frequent 
the  place  for  out-door  rest  and  relaxation. 

Such  a central  open  space  of  course  does  not  offer  all  the 
advantages  of  a more  general  playground  several  acres  in 
extent,  with  its  free  sweep  of  air ; but,  on  the  other  hand,  it 
has  in  its  favor  relative  privacy  and  seclusion,  while,  being 
sheltered  from  the  winds,  it  may  be  used  to  a greater  extent 
throughout  the  year  than  a general  playground.  If  the 
sections  of  a city  inhabited  by  the  artisan  classes  could 
either  be  originally  laid  out,  or  reconstructed,  after  this 
fashion,  it  would  be,  of  course,  an  inestimable  blessing,  and 
would  to  a very  great  extent  supply  the  needed  playground 
facilities. 

It  is  conceivable  that  such  a style  of  construction  might 
immensely  promote  missionary  work  of  the  most  practical 
description  among  the  poor.  Few  things  could  be  more 
conducive  to  an  orderly  manner  of  living.  It  would  doubt- 
less be  desirable  to  set  apart  in  every  block  of  this  kind  a 
certain  space  for  neighborhood  purposes;  to  be  occupied, 
for  instance,  as  a kindergarten  by  day,  and  utilized  at  other 
times  for  talks  on  housekeeping,  instruction  in  cooking  and 
other  branches  of  domestic  science,  and  as  a sort  of  club 
room  and  reading  room  for  the  locality  in  the  evening.  It 
would  seem,  therefore,  highly  desirable  to  encourage  the 
construction  of  dwellings  of  this  class  about  open  spaces. 

To  this  end  it  might  be  well  to  suggest  that,  where  dwell- 
ings are  thus  built  about  a central  open  space,  in  a manner 
satisfactory  to  competent  authorities,  such  open  space  may 
be  leased  to  the  city  or  town  for  a nominal  sum,  either  for 
a stated  term  of  years,  or  for  the  period  during  which  the 
surrounding  dwellings  shall  be  devoted  to  the  purposes  for 
which  they  were  designed.  The  land  would  thus  be  free  of 
taxation,  and  a proportionately  low  rate  of  rental  would  be 
encouraged.  The  taking  of  the  land  by  the  city  in  this 
manner,  while  it  would  secure  the  desired  small  open  spaces 
for  playground  purposes,  would  enable  it  to  revert  to  its 


Newcomb  Street 


76 


METROPOLITAN  PARKS 


[Jan 


Reed  Street 


itO  WIDE 


07-// 

1 

r 

3 

1 

3 

1 

3 

Harrison  Avenue 

60  O wide 


Plan  of  Tenements  erected  by  the  Co-operative  Building1  Company, 

Boston. 


East  Lenox  street 


• \ 


b 


22.  The  Fowl  Meadows,  Neponset  River.  After  a photograph  by  Benjamin  Kimball. 


1893.] 


HOUSE  — No.  150. 


77 


owners  whenever  local  conditions  should  so  change  as  to 
render  the  site  desirable  for  other  uses,  say  mercantile  or 
manufacturing  purposes.  This,  of  course,  should  be  con- 
ditional upon  the  rates  of  rental  not  exceeding  a certain 
maximum  per  apartment,  or  room.  The  care  of  the  ground 
would  best  be  given  into  the  hands  of  the  owners  of  the  prop- 
erty, with  the  right  to  restrict  its  use  to  the  persons  occupy- 
ing the  adjacent  dwellings. 

7.  Local  Pleasure  Grounds  a Subject  of  World-wide 
Interest . 

The  suitable  establishment  of  local  pleasure  grounds  is 
a subject  that  is  occupying  much  attention  in  other  parts 
of  the  world.  In  England,  for  instance,  the  Metropolitan 
Public  Gardens  Association,  of  London,  under  the  chairman- 
ship of  the  Earl  of  Meath,  has  performed  invaluable  service 
in  promoting  the  establishment  of  open  spaces,  and  informa- 
tion concerning  this  work  is  constantly  being  sought  from 
various  parts  of  the  world.  In  the  admirable  annual  reports 
of  this  organization  a map  of  London  is  included,  show- 
ing the  work  done  by  the  association  up  to  date  since 
1882.  In  the  report  for  1891  two  hundred  and  forty-six 
different  examples  of  work  completed  are  exhibited,  while 
the  list  of  unfinished  work  carries  the  number  up  to  two 
hundred  and  ninety-seven.  The  map  of  London  is  thus 
thickly  sprinkled  by  the  marks  showing  where  the  associa- 
tion has  been  at  work.  These  achievements  include  the 
establishment  of  new  playgrounds,  the  improvement  of  old 
ones,  the  planting  of  trees,  the  erection  of  fountains,  contri- 
butions towards  gymnasiums,  etc.,  the  placing  of  seats  in 
open  spaces,  the  opening  up  of  disused  or  abandoned  church- 
yards as  recreation  grounds,  and  various  other  forms  of 
activity. 

Such  an  association  could  hardly  fail  to  be  very  valuable 
here  as  an  auxiliary  to  the  work  of  official  park  boards,  in 
offering  suggestions,  creating  public  sentiment  and  prevent- 
ing unwise  action  in  relation  to  public  grounds. 


78 


METROPOLITAN  PARKS. 


[Jan. 


A letter  from  Mr.  Basil  Holmes,  the  secretary  of  the 
Metropolitan  Public  Gardens  Association,  in  reply  to  an 
inquiry  from  this  commission,  states  that  his  association 
holds  “that  open  spaces  in  towns  should  be  compulsorily 
provided,  and,  as  buildings  extend,  so  shall  open  spaces  be 
provided  for  the  newly  built  area.  The  question  of  cost 
comes  in,  and,  inasmuch  as  the  open  land  near  a town  has 
become  valuable  through  no  action  of  the  owner,  many 
people  consider  it  would  not  be  unfair  that  the  owner  should 
be  compelled  to  pay,  say  a ten  per  cent,  tax  on  all  new 
ground  rents,  for  the  provision  of  open  spaces,  or  that  he 
himself  should  have  to  reserve  as  open  land  an  adequate 
proportion  of  his  property.  But  we  have  not  come  to  that 
here  yet,  and  at  present  open  spaces  are  paid  for  out  of  the 
rates  which  are  levied  on  the  occupiers  ” 

It  is  possible  that  eventually  the  necessity  of  adequate 
open  spaces  for  playgrounds  will  be  so  generally  recognized 
that  a law  requiring  all  communities  of  a certain  density  of 
population  to  provide  them  will  be  deemed  advisable,  being 
demanded  in  the  interests  of  the  health  and  morals  of  grow- 
ing: generations.  Such  a law  would  be  in  line  with  the 
educational  policy  long  since  adopted  by  the  Commonwealth, 
as  manifest,  for  instance,  in  the  requirement  that  towns  of  a 
certain  population  shall  maintain  a high  school.  But  it  is 
very  likely  that  public  sentiment  itself  may  soon  become  so 
alive  to  the  necessities  of  the  case  that  compulsion  will  no 
more  be  called  for  than  it  is  in  the  matter  of  providing 
proper  school  facilities. 

In  this  connection  it  is  worthy  of  note  that  the  secretary 
of  the  Berlin  city  government’s  committee  on  public  parks, 
in  answering  inquiries  from  this  commission,  stated  that  in 
Prussia  every  community  is  so  alive  to  the  importance  of 
public  parks  and  gardens  that  there  has  been  no  need  of  any 
special  law  on  the  subject. 


23.  Paul’s  Bridge,  Neponset  River.  After  a photograph  by  George  H.  Chickering. 


1893.] 


HOUSE  — No.  150. 


79 


8.  Need  of  Foresight  in  establishing  Local  Pleasure 

Grounds . 

As  it  is  with  great  difficulty  and  expense  that  a community 
is  provided  with  the  proper  local  pleasure  grounds  after  it 
has  become  well  populated,  it  seems  desirable  that  these 
should  be  provided  for  by  their  location  in  advance  of  the 
growth  of  the  population ; just  as  in  Boston  the  wise  policy 
has  recently  been  adopted  of  laying  out,  in  a thoroughly  sys- 
tematic manner,  the  entire  highway  system  of  the  city  over 
the  as  yet  unoccupied  territory  in  anticipation  of  future 
growth.  It  would  likewise  be  well  to  lay  out  in  the  same 
way  the  local  pleasure  grounds  that  would  be  needed  for  the 
growth  of  a community.  Should  it  be  deemed  advisable  in 
the  future  to  establish  a metropolitan  board  of  survey,  it 
would  be  well  to  co-ordinate  its  work  with  that  of  the 
Metropolitan  Parks  Commission,  so  that  at  the  same  time  the 
latter  could  designate  the  most  suitable  sites  for  these  local 
pleasure  grounds,  and  make  the  reservations  accordingly. 

The  existence  of  these  reservations  would  offer  a strong 
inducement  for  the  growth  of  the  communities  in  the  proper 
directions,  since  their  neighborhoods  would  naturally  be 
most  attractive.  It  is  a too  common  error,  in  securing 
such  sites,  to  hold  that  one  piece  of  land  is  as  good  as 
another.  Availability  for  the  purpose  should  first  be  had  in 
mind,  and,  other  things  being  equal,  accessibility  together 
with  attractiveness  of  site  and  the  embracing  of  pleasant 
natural  features  should  form  a leading  consideration,  while 
situation  in  relation  to  prevailing  winds,  exposure  to  sun- 
shine and  neighborhood  to  bodies  of  water  should  be  also 
held  in  view. 

Practically  the  same  reasons  that  have  operated  in  pre- 
venting the  various  local  communities  from  taking  action  in 
regard  to  the  larger  pleasure  grounds  have  also  kept  them 
from  establishing  these  local  open  spaces.  They  have  been 
too  busy  with  other  affairs,  their  resources  have  been  too 
heavily  drawn  upon  in  meeting  the  ordinary  requirements 
for  their  growth,  to  permit  them  to  pay  attention  to  this  im- 


80 


METROPOLITAN  PARKS. 


[Jan. 


portant  subject.  It  is  extremely  desirable  that  they  should 
take  the  matter  in  hand  while  the  opportunity  remains,  so 
that  they  will  not  be  prevented  from  doing  anything  by  the 
great  expense  to  which  it  will  put  them.  Therefore  some 
form  of  legislative  encouragement  that  will  induce  them  to 
act  for  themselves  seems  advisable. 


9.  Legislation  recommended . 

The  method  in  mind  is  different  in  principle  from  that 
which  has  been  suggested  in  relation  to  the  establishment  of 
a general  park  system.  The  local  pleasure  grounds  are  mat- 
ters of  more  purely  local  concern,  and  the  function  of  a 
Metropolitan  Parks  Commission  would  therefore  more  prop- 
erly be  advisory,  leaving  the  separate  communities  to  act  for 
themselves  under  the  incentive  which  such  legislation  would 
give. 

It  might,  therefore,  be  recommended  that,  wherever  any 
cities  and  towns  in  the  metropolitan  district  desire  to  estab- 
lish local  open  spaces  for  playground  purposes,  they  be  per- 
mitted to  exceed  their  debt  limits  by  the  amount  of  the 
bonded  indebtedness  necessary  to  that  end,  and  that  the 
bonds  so  issued  may  constitute  a special  lien  upon  the  lands 
thus  acquired.  A provision  ought  to  be  added  that  the  said 
sites  and  plans  for  construction  shall  be  approved  by  the 
Metropolitan  Parks  Commission.  In  order  to  make  this 
opportunity  available  to  the  people  of  the  Commonwealth  in 
general,  outside  of  the  metropolitan  district,  the  same  pro- 
vision should  apply  to  all  cities  of  the  Commonwealth,  sub- 
stituting the  Trustees  of  Public  Reservations  for  the  Metro- 
politan Parks  Commission,  the  former  acting  as  advisors  to 
the  governor  and  council  in  the  matter. 

The  city  of  Boston  has  been  permitted  to  exceed  its  debt 
limit  in  the  expenditures  not  only  for  acquiring,  but  con- 
structing, its  public  parks,  and  there  appears  to  be  no  reason 
why  this  policy,  in  the  former  respect  at  least,  should  not 
be  the  privilege  of  all  cities  in  the  Commonwealth.  In  the 
case  of  permanent  improvements,  like  municipal  lighting 


/?/;'■■' 


O. 


24.  Neponset  River  near  Mattapan.  After  a photograph  by  Roland  Thaxter. 


1893.] 


HOUSE  — No.  150. 


81 


works  and  water  works,  cities  and  towns  are  permitted  to 
exceed  their  debt  limits,  and  public  open  spaces  certainly 
fall  in  the  same  category. 

A draft  of  a bill  intended  to  bring  these  results  about  is 
appended  to  this  statement  for  the  consideration  of  the  com- 
missioners ; as  also  the  draft  of  an  act  concerning  the  erec- 
tion of  dwellings  about  central  spaces.  [See  Appendices  C 
and  D.] 


SYLVESTER  BAXTER, 

Secretary. 


82 


METROPOLITAN  PARKS, 


[Jan. 


REPORT  OF  THE  LANDSCAPE  ARCHITECT. 


To  the  Metropolitan  Park  Commission. 

Gentlemen  : — You  have  asked  me  to  report  to  you  upon  the 
opportunities  presented  by  the  neighborhood  of  Boston  for  the 
creation  of  such  public  open  spaces  as  may  best  promote  the 
health  and  happiness  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  metropolitan  district. 
I have  given  my  best  attention  to  the  problem,  and  now  beg  leave 
to  submit  the  following  paper,  asking  you  to  excuse  its  manifest 
shortcomings,  in  view  of  the  great  breadth  of  the  field  it  essays 
to  cover. 


INTRODUCTION^ 

The  life  history  of  humanity  has  proved  nothing  more  clearly 
than  that  crowded  populations,  if  they  would  live  in  health  and 
happiness,  must  have  space  for  air,  for  light,  for  exercise,  for  rest, 
and  for  the  enjoyment  of  that  peaceful  beauty  of  nature  which, 
because  it  is  the  opposite  of  the  noisy  ugliness  of  towns,  is  so 
wonderfully  refreshing  to  the  tired  souls  of  townspeople. 

Most  of  the  greatest  centres  of  the  population  of  the  world 
have  now  accepted  the  teachings  of  bitter  experience,  and  have 
provided  themselves  with  the  necessary  and  desirable  open  areas, 
albeit  at  immense  expense  and  with  great  difficulty.  The  accom- 
panying diagrams  show  the  extent  of  the  public  open  spaces  now 
existing  in  the  neighborhood  of  Paris  and  of  London,  in  compar- 
ison with  those  now  existing  near  Boston.  “ Experience  keeps  a 
dear  school,  but  fools  will  learn  in  no  other,”  said  Benjamin 
Franklin.  Shall  Franklin’s  birthplace  play  the  fool’s  part?  Pre- 
sumably this  is  the  question  which  the  Metropolitan  Park  Com- 
mission and  the  people  of  the  metropolitan  district  will  ask  the 
General  Court  to  answer. 

If,  then,  it  be  determined  that  the  metropolitan  district  of  Bos- 
ton shall  be  wise,  and  shall  provide  itself  with  ample  open  spaces 
while  it  may  yet  do  so  at  small  expense,  upon  what  considerations 


1893.] 


HOUSE  — No.  150. 


83 


should  the  selection  of  lands  for  public  open  spaces  be  based? 
Obviously  this  question  cannot  be  answered  intelligently  with- 
out a somewhat  detailed  study  both  of  the  natural  or  geographical 
features  of  the  district  in  question,  and  of  the  manner  in  which 
crowded  settlement  has  affected  these  natural  features  to  the 
advantage  or  injury  of  the  population  concerned.  When  such  a 
study  shall  have  brought  forth  the  facts  in  the  case,  it  will  be 
possible  to  deduce  therefrom  the  considerations  which  should 
govern  the  scientific  selection  of  lands  for  public  open  spaces  ; 
and  it  will  then  only  remain  to  review  the  existing  open  spaces, 
and  to  propose  new  reservations  in  the  light  of  the  considerations 
so  established.  In  other  words,  this  report  falls  naturally  into 
three  parts,  as  follows  : — 

Part  I. — A summary  of  the  physical  and  historical  geography 
of  the  metropolitan  district. 

Part  II.  — A study  of  the  way  in  which  the  peculiar  geography  of 
the  metropolitan  district  ought  to  govern  the  selec- 
tion of  the  sites  of  public  open  spaces. 

Part  III. — A review  of  the  opportunities  which  still  present 
themselves  for  creating  new  open  spaces  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  governing  considerations  just 
laid  down. 


PART  FIRST. 

The  Rock  Foundation.  — Underneath  the  whole  region  — under 
the  sea,  the  rivers,  the  woods  — lie  the  rocks  of  the  crust  of  the 
earth.  'The  oldest  and  hardest  of  these  rocks,  beside  underlying 
the  whole  district,  stand  up  in  two  conspicuous  though  broken 
ridges,  — that  which  extends  from  Waltham  to  Cape  Ann,  some- 
times called  the  Wellington  Hills,  and  that  which  from  the  earliest 
settlement  has  borne  the  name  of  the  Blue  Hills.  The  northern 
mass  of  rock,  though  broken  in  many  places  by  deep  transverse 
valleys,  such  as  those  of  the  Mystic,  Malden  and  Saugus  rivers, 
generally  presents  to  the  south  a steep,  wall-like  front,  about  one 
hundred  feet  in  elevation.  In  its  eastern  extension  its  highland 
surface  is  exceedingly  rough,  broken  into  rocky  knobs  and  narrow 
hollows,  now  and  then  rising  into  exceptionally  high  summits, 
such  as  Bear  Hill  (three  hundred  and  twenty-five  feet)  in  Stone- 
ham,  and  Burrill’s  Hill  (two  hundred  and  eighty-five  feet)  in  Lynn.* 


* See  illustrations  Nos.  1,  5,  6,  7. 


84 


METROPOLITAN  PARKS. 


[Jan. 


The  southern  rock-mass  of  the  Blue  Hills  differs  from  the  northern 
in  that  it  is  carved  into  a dozen  rounded  and  partially  separated 
hills,  steepest  on  their  south  sides,  and  varying  in  elevation  above 
the  sea  from  three  hundred  to  more  than  six  hundred  feet,  being 
the  highest  hills  standing  thus  near  the  coast  of  the  continent  from 
Maine  to  Mexico.* 

Between  these  much-worn  stumps  or  roots  of  ancient  mountains 
— the  Wellington  Hills  and  the  Blue  Hills  — lies  a region  some 
fifteen  miles  wide,  in  which  the  primitive  rocks  which  form  these 
mountain  stumps  have  been  depressed  so  far,  and  the  secondary 
rocks  which  lie  upon  the  primitive  rocks  have  been  worn  down  so 
deep,  that  the  sea  has  flowed  over  both  and  formed  Boston  bay. 
Not  that  the  waters  of  the  bay  wash  against  shores  of  rock.  On 
the  contrary,  the  points  within  this  region  where  the  sea  meets  the 
rocks  are  very  few,  the  most  conspicuous  being  the  ocean  fronts 
of  Swampscott  and  Cohasset,  Nahant,  the  outer  islands  and 
Squantum.  Such  rocks  as  do  appear  above  the  surface  within 
the  Boston  basin  are  of  mixed  kinds ; among  them  the  various 
slates  of  Quincy,  Cambridge  and  Somerville,  and  the  conglomer- 
ate or  pudding-stone  which  forms  Squaw  Rock  at  Squantum  and 
the  great  bosses  of  ledge  which  protrude  in  spots  in  Roxbury  and 
elsewhere.  But  generally  throughout  this  depressed  region  there 
is  no  solid  rock  in  sight.  Even  the  rivers  rarely  discover  any, 
except  at  their  several  so-called  64  falls.”  Another  material,  which 
must  next  be  examined,  forms  almost  all  the  sea-shore,  the  river- 
banks,  and  the  dry  land  of  the  space  between  the  massive  uplifts 
of  the  Wellington  and  the  Blue  Hills. 

The  Glacial  Rubbish.  — Dumped  in  various  sorts  of  hea^,  alike 
upon  the  uplifted  and  the  depressed  parts  of  tbe  rock  foundation 
of  the  district,  lies  an  enormous  quantity  of  clay,  gravel  and  stones 
of  all  sizes  and  kinds,  — stuff  which  the  moving  ice-sheets  of  suc- 
cessive glacial  periods  bore  away  from  northern  regions.  The 
largest  of  these  heaps  form  very  conspicuous  objects  in  the  scenery 
of  the  district,  being  great  rounded  hills  of  symmetrical  form,  such 
as  are  numerous  in  the  neighborhood  of  Chelsea  and  all  about 
Boston  harbor. t Lesser  heaps  take  the  form  of  steep  mounds  and 
narrow  and  long  ridges,  often  enclosing  bowl-like  hollows  from 
which  there  is  only  an  underground  escape  for  water.  More 
important  are  the  large  areas  in  which  the  glacial  material  has 
been  worked  over  by  running  waters  in  such  a way  as  to  produce 


* See  illustrations  Nos.  20,  22,  26. 
f See  illustrations  Nos.  10,  29,  31. 


26.  Neponset  Marshes?  and  the  distant  Blue  Hills. 


1893.] 


HOUSE  — No.  150. 


85 


almost  level  plains,  which,  in  sharp  contrast  to  the  steep  hills,  are 
almost  free  from  bowlders  of  large  size.  It  is  with  this  material, 
dumped  in  these  various  forms,  that  the  region  where  the  ledge 
rocks  are  sunk  is  filled  and  brought  above  the  level  of  the  sea. 

The  Fresh  Waters. — Upon  the  surfaces  already  described  — 
the  well-rubbed  rocks  and  the  rounded  heaps  of  glacial  wreckage 
— fall  rain  and  snow,  which  gathers  itself  into  streams  and  sets 
out  for  the  sea.  But  the  course  of  the  waters  throughout  all  this 
region  is  difficult  and  tortuous  in  the  extreme.  Turned  this  way 
and  that  by  the  accumulations  of  glacial  stuff,  the  streams  follow 
few  sharply  defined  valleys,  but  wander  about  in  an  unusually  aim- 
less manner.  In  the  highland  parts  of  the  district  rain-waters  are 
caught  in  rock-rimmed  hollows,  or  in  basins  formed  by  dams  of 
glacial  drift,  from  which  they  can  escape  only  by  overflowing  the 
rim  or  dam.  Thus  almost  every  hollow,  even  at  two  hundred 
feet  above  the  sea,  contains  a pond,  or  a swamp  which  is  a clogged 
pond,  while  along  the  courses  of  the  brooks  and  rivers  similar 
morasses  appear  at  frequent  intervals.*  Even  the  Charles  River, 
the  largest  stream  of  the  region,  suffers  in  its  course  from  just 
these  difficulties.  At  Dedham  it  is  suddenly  turned  aside  from  a 
short  route  to  the  sea  by  way  of  the  Neponset  valley ; and  then  at 
Newton  Upper  Falls  the  hard  rock  which  it  has  there  chanced  to 
hit  upon  serves  as  a dam,  which  makes  a great  swamp  of  all  the 
lowlands  for  several  miles  up  stream.  It  need  hardly  be  added 
that,  however  it  may  be  with  respect  to  healthfulness,  with  respect 
to  scenery  these  retardations  of  the  waters  in  ponds  and  swamps 
are  a very  valuable  and  charming  addition  to  a landscape  already 
wonderfully  varied  and  picturesque. 

The  Sea. — Eastward  on  a clear  day,  from  almost  any  of  the 
numerous  rock  or  gravel  hill-tops  of  the  district,  is  seen  the  distant 
horizon  of  the  sea,  — sometimes  a long  field  of  blue  spread  across 
the  whole  fifteen  miles  from  the  Roaring  Bull  of  Marblehead  to  the 
Black  Rock  of  Cohasset,  and  sometimes  only  a bowl-shaped  patch 
lying  between  some  near  or  distant  elevations  of  the  mainland. 

The  ocean  rocks  of  Marblehead  and  Cohasset  guard  the  entrance 
to  Boston  bay.  Sweeping  between  them  with  an  unbroken  surface, 
the  salt  waters  presently  meet  with  many  and  various  obstructions, 
which  everywhere  betray  the  marks  of  the  destructive  or  construc- 
tive energy  of  the  waves.  The  rock  island  of  Nahant  has  been 
gnawed  into  by  the  surf  until  its  coast  is  ragged  and  picturesque  in 


* See  illustrations  Nos.  3,  15,  16,  21,  22. 


86 


METROPOLITAN  PAEKS. 


[Jan. 


the  extreme  ; but,  in  return,  the  sea  has  formed  out  of  the  waste  of  the 
land  a beautiful  beach,  which  makes  a perfect  causeway  connecting 
the  island  with  the  main;  One  step  further  inland,  and  similar 
evidences  of  the  work  of  the  sea  appear  on  every  hand.  Here  the 
waters  meet  the  foremost  of  those  great  hills  of  clay  and  stones 
which  the  ice  age  bequeathed  to  the  present.  Grover’s  Cliff, 
Winthrop  Great  Head,*  Great  Brewster  Island,  Point  Allerton  and 
Strawberry  Hill  still  stand  boldly  in  the  front  against  the  sea ; 
although  they  are  now  but  fragments  of  their  originally  symmetri- 
cal masses.  From  the  feet  of  their  steep  bluffs,  long  curving 
beaches,  built  by  the  sea,  stretch  away  to  unite  themselves  with  the 
next  adjacent  mounds  or  hills  ; or  else  to  join  in  never-ending  con- 
flict with  some  strong  tidal  current,  as  at  Shirley  and  Hull  guts. 

The  waves  as  they  roll  inland  along  the  converging  coasts  of  the 
bay  are  ever  bringing  fresh  material  wherewith  to  close  the  remain- 
ing gaps  and  shut  up  the  port  of  Boston  ; but  the  flowing  and 
ebbing  tides  are  fortunately  as  constantly  at  work  to  keep  the 
entrance  open,  so  that  no  appreciable  narrowing  of  the  passages  is 
accomplished.  Once  inside  Point  Shirley  and  Point  Pemberton, 
the  now  stilled  waters  play  around  numerous  other  hills  of  the 
kind  geologists  call  drumlins,  here  cutting  a steep  bluff  out  of  the 
side  or  end  of  one  of  them  here,  by  building  beaches,  linking  two 
or  three  together  to  form  an  island  or  a stretch  of  coast ; or  here 
again  reaching  far  inland  between  the  hills  to  receive  the  fresh  waters 
of  brooks  and  rivers.  Finally,  behind  the  beaches  and  in  all  the 
stillest  parts  of  the  tidal  region,  the  growth  of  grasses  on  the 
muddy  flats  has  resulted  in  the  building  up  of  wide-spread  and 
open  levels  of  salt  marsh,  in  which  the  tidal  currents  are  able  to 
keep  open  only  a few  sinuous  channels.}:  On  the  north  the  marshes 

and  the  salt  creeks  extend  to  the  very  feet  of  the  rock  highlands. 
Westward  the  salt  water  of  Charles  River  reaches  inland  six  miles 
from  the  State  House.  On  the  south  the  estuaries  and  marshes  of 
the  Neponset  and  of  Weymouth  Fore  and  Back  rivers  present 
beautiful  pictures  of  mingled  land  and  water.  This  flowing  of  the 
sea  about  the  half-sunken  drumlins  has  produced  scenery  which,  were 
it  not  so  familiar,  would  be  considered  wonderfully  varied  and  fine. 

The  Effects  of  Human  Occupancy.—  Into  this  region  of  mar« 
vellously  commingled  waters,  marshes,  gravel  banks  and  rocks 


* See  illustration  No.  11. 
f See  illustrations  Nos.  28,  29. 

X See  illustrations  Nos.  8,  9,  10,  25,  26,  27. 


1893.] 


HOUSE  — No.  150. 


87 


came  the  English  colonists  of  the  seventeenth  century  ; and,  from 
Miles  Standish  of  Plymouth  to  Thomas  Morton  of  Merrymount, 
every  man  among  them  had  only  praise  for  the  scenery.  To 
Standish,  after  he  had  landed  at  Squantum  and  voyaged  up  Mystic 
River,  the  region  seemed  u the  paradise  of  all  these  parts,”  and  he 
very  naturally  wished  the  Plymouth  people  “ had  there  been  seated.” 
For  Morton,  the  educated  sportsman,  the  blue  waters,  the  salt 
meadows,  and  the  great  woods  which  framed  the  coves  of  marsh 
grass  with  a wall  of  varied  verdure,  composed  a great  free  hunting 
park  the  like  of  which  all  England  could  not  boast. 

The  annihilation  of  the  native  red  men  by  a plague  had  left  the 
country  comparatively  safe,  and,  although  the  first  houses  of  Bos- 
ton were  built  on  the  peninsula  of  Shawmut,  because  of  its  advan- 
tages in  case  of  attack,  Governor  Winthrop  and  the  other  leaders 
soon  took  up  large  outlying  estates,  while  outlying  settlements 
were  also  made  very  early.  The  steep  drumlin  hills  of  Shawmut, 
surrounded  and  even  divided  as  they  were  by  the  tides,  afforded 
but  little  opportunity  for  tillage,  and  compelled  a scattering  of  the 
people,  and  when  this  took  place  it  was  to  the  most  accessible  of 
the  few  smooth  parts  of  the  neighborhood  that  they  went.  Wher- 
ever a navigable  river  or  creek  swept  past  a gentle  slope  of  the 
glacial  drift,  there  a settlement  was  made  ; and  from  such  settle- 
ments grew  Lynn,  Medford,  Cambridge,  Watertown  and  the  other 
older  townships  of  the  colony.  The  creeks  were  the  first  roads 
and  the  marshes  the  first  hayfields.  So  reluctant  were  the  colo- 
nists to  attempt  the  subjugation  of  the  great  woods  and  the  slopes 
of  bowlders,  that,  when  the  open  spots  near  at  hand  had  been 
occupied,  hundreds  of  people  braved  the  dangers  of  a long  march 
over  Indian  trails  to  reach  and  settle  in  the  soft  intervales  of  the 
Connecticut  valley.  Had  the  prairies  of  the  West  been  accessi- 
ble, the  rougher  parts  of  the  district  would  hardly  yet  have  been 
tamed.  As  it  was,  when  population  increased,  men  were  forced 
to  take  up  axe  and  crow-bar  in  grim  earnest.  The  great  hills 
of  bowlder  clay  had  to  be  made  cultivable  ; generation  after  gen- 
eration labored  with  the  trees  and  stones,  and  at  last  the  rounded 
hills  stood  forth  as  mounds  of  green,  marked  and  divided  by  walls 
of  field  stones,  and  sometimes  crowned,  as  at  Clapboardtree  Cor- 
ner in  Dedham,  with  the  white  churches  of  the  victors.  Naturally 
the  bounding  hills  of  rock  were  only  entered  for  their  timber ; 
nothing  else  was  to  be  won  from  their  wild  crags.  After  two 
hundred  years* of  these  arduous  labors,  the  neighborhood  of  Boston 
was  a lovely  land.  The  broad  or  narrow  marshes  still  lay  open 


88 


METROPOLITAN  PARKS. 


[Jan. 


to  the  sun  and  air,  through  them  the  salt  creeks  wound  inland 
twice  a day,  about  them  lay  fields  and  pastures  backed  by  woods 
upon  the  steeper  slopes,  and  across  their  sunny  levels  looked  the 
windows  of  many  scattered  houses  and  many  separate  villages. 

What  causes  brought  into  this  land  that  ever-increasing  body  of 
population,  the  coming  of  which  has  so  shattered  the  idyllic  land- 
scape of  the  earlier  days,  it  is  not  for  me  to  attempt  to  determine. 
Whatever  its  causes,  a flood  of  population,  gathered  from  Europe, 
Canada,  and  the  country  districts  of  New  England,  has  poured 
itself  into  the  Boston  basin,  and  here  among  the  marshes  and  the 
steep  hills  it  is  trying  to  build  for  itself  a healthful  and  beautiful 
city.  The  undertaking  is  one  of  enormous  difficulty.  Add  to  the 
problem  of  Venice  a tide  that  flows  and  ebbs  from  nine  to  eleven 
feet  instead  of  two,  a jumble  of  hills  each  of  which  rises  steeply 
to  more  than  one  hundred  feet  of  elevation,  and  a winter  climate 
which  locks  even  the  salt  waters  with  ice,  and  you  have  the  prob- 
lem of  the  central  parts  of  greater  Boston. 

The  peculiar  intricacy  of  the  topography  caused  all  the  first 
streets  and  country  roads  to  follow  very  crooked  courses  ; and 
when  a city  began  to  grow  here,  one  of  the  first  necessities  was 
better  means  of  communication  than  the  old  ways  which  wound 
around  the  hills  and  marshes  could  afford.  Accordingly  long 
bridges  and  causeways  were  thrust  out  across  the  flats  in  all  direc- 
tions, and  from  their  terminations  turnpike  roads  were  carried  far 
into  the  inland  country.  In  order  to  eke  out  the  scanty  building 
land  in  the  heart  of  tpe  district,  the  flats  along  the  causeways  and 
in  the  coves  of  the  marshes  had  next  to  be  filled  with  gravel  taken 
from  the  nearest  hills,  or  brought  in  later  days  from  distant  hills  by 
railroad.  Upon  these  filled  lands  all  structures,  from  buildings  to 
sewers,  must  be  founded  on  driven  piles  or  otherwise  “ floated 
from  these  lands  there  is  no  fall  for  the  draining  off  of  storm- 
water, except  when  the  tide  is  out ; from  them  there  can  be  no  way 
of  removing  sewage  except  by  pumping  its  whole  volume  up  to 
such  a level  as  will  deliver  it  to  the  ebb  tide.  In  view  of  the 
great  cost  of  all  these  works,  it  is  no  wonder  that  population  and 
manufacturing  have  in  many  places  crowded  upon  even  unfilled 
marshes,  trusting  to  dikes  to  keep  the  waters  out ; neither  is  it  any 
wonder  that  the  regions  in  which  these  wet  lands  are  at  present 
but  partly  filled  and  but  partly  built  upon  should  be  both  ugly 
and  unwholesome. 

In  the  inland  parts  it  is  unfortunate  but  equally  natural  that  the 
wet  lands  along  the  streams  tend  to  become  built  upon  in  the  same 


7.  \ Black’s  Creek,  Quincy. 


1893.] 


HOUSE  — No.  150. 


89 


cheap  and  unsightly  ways.  Factories  have  placed  themselves  along 
the  rivers  and  brooks  ; and  near  the  factories,  and  always  with  their 
backs  to  the  stream,  are  built  the  houses  or  tenements  of  the 
employees.  Thus  a once  pure  stream  is  at  one  blow  made  both 
foul  and  ugly.  So  also  with  the  many  areas  of  ill-drained  upland. 
Wet  land  being  cheap,  it  is  cheaply  built  upon,  to  the  detriment  of 
both  the  healthfulness  and  the  beauty  of  the  district. 

As  to  the  original  drumlin  hills  of  the  district,  some  have  been 
wholly  dug  away  for  filling,  others  have  had  great  holes  cut  out  of 
them,  others  have  had  streets  run  up  them  at  steep  grades,  and 
houses  possessed  of  extra  floors  on  their  lower  sides  stuck  all  over 
them.  A few  hills  of  this  difficult  kind  in  the  upland  regions  of 
Brookline  have  been  so  skilfully  laid  out  that  the  roads  are  easy 
and  the  general  result  pleasing  ; but  most  of  the  old  drumlins  have 
been  badly  treated,  and  the  result  is  ugliness  and  inconvenience. 

Lastly,  the  same  rock  hills  which  baffled  the  men  who  cleared 
the  drumlins  are  now  found  to  present  most  serious  obstacles  to  the 
easy  construction  of  cities.  In  addition  to  their  exceeding  rough- 
ness, the  very  hardness  of  their  rocks  makes  the  necessary  excava- 
tions for  streets,  cellars,  water-pipes  and  sewers  very  expensive ; 
and  accordingly  the  larger  rocky  regions  of  the  district  have  not 
yet  been  seriously  invaded  by  the  waves  of  population  flowing 
against  their  feet. 


PART  SECOND. 

Assuming  now  a thorough  acquaintance  with  this  strange  city 
of  the  marshes  and  the  hills,  we  must  next  inquire  in  what  manner 
the  peculiar  facts  of  the  situation  about  Boston  should  influence 
the  selection  of  permanent  open  spaces. 

We  have  found  that  the  metropolitan  district  of  Boston  lies, 
even  at  this  late  day,  between  two  wildernesses ; on  the  one 
hand  the  untamed  heights  of  the  rock-hills,  on  the  other  the 
untamable  sea.  If  it  be  true  that  easy  access  to  the  refreshing 
beauty  of  the  natural  world  is  of  the  greatest  benefit  to  crowded 
townspeople,  the  people  of  this  favored  district  have  only  to  say 
the  word  and  to  pay  out  a little  money  annually  during  a term  of 
years,  and  this  best  of  possessions  will  be  theirs  at  once  and 
forever.  Here  the  busy  and  the  poor  can  find  near  home  that  best 
of  antidotes  to  the  poisonous  excitement  of  city  life,  which  the 
rich  win  by  travel  or  by  living  in  luxurious  country  seats.  From 
every  one  of  the  greater  of  the  encircling  hills,  even  from  the 


90 


METROPOLITAN  PARKS. 


[Jan. 


inland  Prospect  Hill  of  Waltham,  the  ocean  is  in  sight ; and,  even 
if  these  wild  hills  were  not  interesting  in  themselves,  this  fact 
alone  would  make  them  valuable  to  the  public.  In  the  other  direc- 
tion the  open  sea  and  the  surf  on  the  shore  is  but  four  miles  from 
the  State  House : on  a quiet  night  after  a storm  its  note  can  be 
heard  in  the  streets ; its  flowing  tide  “ twice  every  day  takes  Bos- 
ton in  its  arms.” 

Thus  has  nature  placed  and  preserved  at  the  very  gates  of 
Boston  riches  of  scenery  such  as  Chicago  or  Denver  or  many 
another  American  city  would  give  millions  to  create,  if  it  were 
possible.  Stupid  indeed  will  be  the  people  of  greater  Boston  if 
they  fail  to  perceive  and  attend  to  their  interests  in  this  matter 
before  the  opportunity  is  lost. 

We  have  further  found  that  the  inhabited  district  is  invaded 
in  many  crooked  directions  by  the  tides,  and  swamped  in  many 
other  parts  by  the  fresh  waters.  What  does  the  greatest  good 
of  the  greatest  number,  if  not  the  self-interest  of  the  landowners 
of  such  parts,  demand? 

In  view  of  the  fact  that  good  building  land  is  scarce  in  the 
heart  of  the  district,  it  is  obviously  necessary  that  all  the  lesser 
areas  of  mud-flat,  marsh  and  swamp,  as  yet  remaining  unfilled, 
should  be  filled  as  soon  as  may  be,  thus  preventing  whatever 
nuisance  may  tend  to  arise  from  their  presence  in  the  midst  of  the 
city,  while  at  the  same  time  increasing  the  area  of  taxable  real 
estate.  On  the  other  hand,  such  filling,  with  the  accompanying 
obliteration  or  covering  of  ancient  water-ways,  must  not  be  carried 
too  far,  for  it  has  its  great  dangers.  The  large  water  courses, 
both  salt  and  fresh,  cannot  safely  be  meddled  with.  As  has  been 
pointed  out  already,  it  is  only  when  the  tide  is  cut  of  the  Mystic 
and  Charles  rivers  that  extensive  areas  of  natural  and  artificial  low- 
land can  be  drained  of  storm-waters  ; if  their  natural  outlets  were 
filled  up,  these  areas,  with  all  their  streets  and  houses,  would  inevi- 
tably become  swampy.  As  to  the  fresh-water  streams,  they  are 
subject  to  floods  which  cannot  be  confined  within  any  ordinary 
conduits  or  covered  channels,  as  one  or  two  disastrous  experi- 
ments in  this  line  have  proved. 

If,  then,  these  larger  water-ways  must  be  preserved  even  in  the 
midst  of  dense  populations,  how  shall  they  best  be  treated?  Shall 
they  continue  in  the  future,  as  in  the  past  and  present,  to  be 
abused,  polluted  and  defaced  by  the  population  living  on  their 
banks  or  near  them?  Is  this  for  the  public  advantage?  Shall 
factory  waste,  sewage  and  rubbish  of  all  sorts  be  continually 


1893.] 


HOUSE  — No.  150. 


91 


poured  into  them,  and  then  allowed  to  rot  in  the  sun  when  the  tide 
goes  out  or  the  water  is  drawn  off  to  turn  the  wheels  of  factories? 
Such  practices  can  hardly  be  conducive  to  the  public  health  of  a 
region  already  more  than  threatened  with  malaria.  Such  practices 
should  indeed  be  impossible  in  every  civilized  community. 

Fortunately  for  greater  Boston,  most  of  her  streams  and  ponds 
may  still  be  rescued  and  converted  from  evil  to  good  uses.  Public 
control  or  ownership  of  the  banks  of  the  streams  will  work  their 
cure  and  ensure  their  permanent  preservation  as  the  most  charm- 
ing of  the  many  charming  features  of  Boston  scenery.  For  such 
public  control  will  not  only  tend  negatively  to  prevent  the  dangers 
to  health  already  mentioned,  but  it  will  also  have  many  positive 
good  results.  It  will  give  an  added  value  to  adjacent  real  estate, 
which  will  ensure  its  occupation  by  good  houses  having  their  fronts, 
and  not  their  back  yards,  turned  towards  water-side  roads.  It  will 
eventually  provide  a whole  series  of  public  promenades  and  play- 
grounds for  the  use  of  the  population  which  tends  to  crowd  into  the 
valleys.  It  will  restore  and  preserve  the  attractiveness  of  the  streams 
for  that  large  class  of  citizens  who  take  pleasure  in  boating.  It  will 
also  provide,  since  the  main  streams  flow  towards  the  heart  of  the 
city,  a series  of  sorely  needed  pleasant  routes  leading  from  the 
country,  through  the  suburbs,  to  the  city,  and  even  to  the  bay  or 
ocean  side  beyond. 

Thus  we  find  that  the  rock-hills,  the  stream  banks,  and  the  bay 
and  the  sea-shores  are  the  available  and  the  valuable  sites  for 
public  open  spaces  ; available  because  they  are  still  generally 
unoccupied  and  cheap,  valuable  because  they  present  both  the 
grandest  and  the  fairest  scenery  to  be  found  within  the  district. 

After  what  has  been  said,  it  hardly  needs  to  be  added  that  the 
metropolitan  district  can  no  longer  afford  not  to  take  possession 
of  its  inheritance  in  these  lands.  Private  ownership  of  the  lands 
referred  to  is  not  only  detrimental  to  the  public  welfare  in  the 
ways  already  mentioned,  but  it  is  also  thoroughly  bad  as  a measure 
of  public  financial  policy.  Private  ownership  of  such  lands, 
because  of  the  need  of  quick  returns,  inevitably  tends  to  their 
occupation  by  cheap  makeshift  structures  of  small  taxable  value  ; 
whereas  public  ownership  will  so  enhance  values  that  the  whole 
community  will  reap  a profit  in  the  end.  Once  the  lands  in 
question  are  owned  by  the  public,  the  work  of  development  may 
safely  wait. 

Only  one  other  word  needs  to  be  said  before  passing  to  a review 
in  detail  of  the  existing  and  proposed  open  spaces.  Playgrounds 


92 


METROPOLITAN  PARKS. 


[Jan. 


for  children  and  youth  are  among  the  necessities  of  modern  town 
life.  Large  or  continuous  open  spaces,  like  those  about  to  be 
suggested,  will  provide  ample  playground  for  the  children  of 
the  population  seated  near  them  ; so  that  smaller  squares,  gar- 
dens and  open-air  sitting-rooms  and  nurseries  will  need  to  be 
provided  only  in  those  crowded  districts  which  the  larger  spaces 
do  not  serve.  All  scientific  planning  of  open  spaces  for  large 
cities  proceeds  thus  from  the  greater  to  the  less.  The  greater 
spaces  are  of  first  account,  because  if  they  are  not  acquired  at 
the  right  time  they  can  never  be  had,  and  because  they  afford  not 
only  fresh  air  and  plaj’room,  which  is  all  that  small  spaces  can 
offer,  but  also  those  free  pleasures  of  the  open  world  of  which 
small  spaces  can  give  no  hint.  Moreover,  in  the  case  under  consid- 
eration, the  peculiar  subdivision  of  the  metropolitan  district  of  Bos- 
ton into  thirty-six  separate  political  units  makes  it  unreasonable, 
and  indeed  impossible,  to  expect  that  these  units  should  act  as  one 
body  or  pay  as  one  body  for  more  than  the  principal,  leading  or 
trunkline  open  spaces  of  the  district.  Such  small  spaces  as  will 
be  needed  after  the  larger  spaces  are  provided  will  have  to  be 
acquired  by  the  action  of  local  authorities  or  by  the  co-operative 
action  of  two  or  more  such  bodies  ; and,  since  small  spaces  are 
almost  entirely  of  local  benefit,  this  seems  to  be  quite  as  it 
should  be. 


PART  THIRD. 

The  foregoing  studies  have  led  to  the  conclusion  that  those 
large  or  continuous  open  spaces  which  will  most  benefit  the  whole 
population  of  the  metropolitan  district  are  situated  on  the  rock- 
hills,  along  the  stream  banks,  and  on  the  sea  and  bay  shores. 
Now,  therefore,  it  becomes  a pleasant  duty  to  examine  each  of 
these  special  sections  of  the  district  in  some  detail,  in  order  that 
we  may  learn  to  what  extent  these  hills  and  shores  are  already 
dedicated  to  public  uses,  and  in  order  that  we  may  determine  what 
particular  parts  thereof  can,  with  the  greatest  economy  and  advan- 
tage, be  forthwith  added  to  the  public  domain. 

The  Rock-lulls.  — In  the  whole  length  of  the  northern  rock-hills 
only  one  crowded  town  is  really  founded  upon  them,  — namely,  Mar- 
blehead, which  had  to  twist  its  crooked  lanes  between  the  ledges  in 
order  to  avail  itself  of  a good  harbor.  From  several  public  points 
of  vantage  on  the  rocks  of  the  shore  the  townspeople,  with  great 
numbers  of  visitors  from  a distance,  annually  view  the  beautiful 
pageants  of  the  yacht  fleets  of  New  England. 


Thompson’s  Island,  from  Little  Squantum. 


1893.] 


HOUSE— No.  150. 


93 


In  Swampscott,  the  next  township,  the  rock-hills  are  beginning 
to  be  occupied  by  houses  which  look  southward  to  the  blue  waters 
of  Nahant  Bay,  oyer  the  narrow  strip  of  drift  lands  upon  which 
stood  the  fishing  village  of  the  past. 

In  Lyon  the  original  settlers  occupied  a somewhat  wider  strip  of 
coast  lands,  and  during  many  years  held  the  rocks  in  their  rear  as 
44  commons.”  When  at  last  they  were  divided  they  were  used  as 
wood  lots.  Even  when  a few  years  ago  Lynn  had  become  a city 
of  fifty  thousand  inhabitants,  the  hills  were  still  as  uninhabited  as 
ever  ; so  that  wThen  the  need  of  a public  water  supply  arose,  the  city 
had  only  to  collect,  by  means  of  a few  dams  in  the  valleys,  the 
uncontaminated  rainfall  of  her  own  wooded  highlands.  Meanwhile 
many  citizens  had  come  to  appreciate  the  great  value  to  a crowded 
population  of  these  neighboring  wild  rocks  with  their  broad  views 
over  the  ocean,  the  ponds  and  the  woods  ; and  soon  whatever  lands 
remained  between  the  tracts  acquired  by  the  water  board  were  given 
to  or  purchased  by  the  Lynn  park  board,  and  through  it  dedicated 
to  the  enjoyment  of  the  public.  To-day  the  Lynn  Woods  embrace 
some  two  thousand  acres,  and  constitute  the  largest  and  most  inter- 
esting, because  the  wildest,  public  domain  in  all  New  England. 
On  the  other  hand,  if  we  exclude  the  expenditures  of  the  water 
board,  the  woods  have  cost  the  public  treasury  of  Lynn  only  thirty- 
five  thousand  dollars.  About  one  hundred  public-spirited  private 
citizens  have  contributed  in  gifts  of  land  and  money  ihe  equivalent 
of  another  thirty-five  thousand  dollars.  Thus  for  the  small  sum 
of  seventy  thousand  dollars  the  44  city  of  shoes”  has  obtained  a 
permanent  and  increasingly  beautiful  possession  which  is  already 
bringing  to  her  a new  and  precious  renown. 

Westward  again,  beyond  the  deep-cut  valley  of  Saugus  River, 
the  next  great  body  of  the  highlands  contains  many  fine  parts, 
such  as  the  rough  hills  in  northern  Saugus,  the  bold  frontal 
elevations  which  overlook  the  great  marshes,  the  charming  hollow 
of  Swain’s  Pond  and  the  pretty  valleys  of  the  brooks  which  flow 
towards  Pranker’s  Pond.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  real-estate 
dealers,  who  will  soon  be  cutting  up  this  region,  and  the  townships 
which  include  it  in  their  limits,  will  unite  upon  a sensible  scheme  of 
development  by  which  the  courses  of  the  brooks  and  the  highest 
rocks  will  be  secured  to  the  public,  thus  insuring  the  perpetual 
continuance  of  that  picturesque  attractiveness  which  is  sure  to  lead 
population  into  this  region  before  long.  Such  laying  out  of  lands 
for  sale  as  has  been  done  here  has  been  done  badly,  except  at 
Pine  Banks  on  the  edge  of  the  next  cross  valley  — that  of  Malden 


94 


METROPOLITAN  PARKS. 


[Jan. 


River — where  a single  landowner  has  built  many  roads,  in  a 
particularly  charming  locality,  upon  lines  which  properly  conform 
to  the  topography.  But  even  here  it  will  be  necessary,  when  the 
selling  of  house  lots  begins,  to  reserve  long  strips  and  blocks  of 
open  ground,  if  that  beauty  of  situation  which  gives  a special  value 
to  the  house  sites  is  to  be  preserved. 

Just  beyond  the  once  charming  but  now  populous  vale  of  Malden 
River  we  must  climb  a rocky  cliff  in  order  to  enter  the  next  wild 
region,  once  called  the  Five  Mile  Woods,  but  now  generally  known 
as  the  Middlesex  Fells.*  Unlike  the  two  preceding  plateaux, 
this  elevated  region  is  entirely  surrounded  by  rapidly  growing 
towns  and  cities,  whose  boundary  lines  meet  among  the  rocks. 
Four  of  the  surrounding  municipalities  draw  water  from  its  valleys, 
and  for  the  protection  of  the  purity  of  the  waters  large  areas  of 
land  have  lately  been  converted  from  private  to  public  ownership. 
Other  public  holdings  of  the  region  are  Bear  Hill,  the  highest 
summit,  controlled  by  the  park  board  of  Stoneham,  and  Virginia 
Wood,  the  gift  of  the  late  Mrs.  Fanny  H.  Tudor  to  the 
Trustees  of  Public  Reservations.  In  short,  this  region  of  wild 
rocks  and  dells  is  now  in  the  same  condition  in  which  the  Lynn 
Woods  lay  before  the  park  board  knit  together  the  disjointed  pre- 
existing reservations  by  acquiring  the  intervening  and  surrounding 
lands.  On  the  other  hand,  the  Middlesex  Fells  cannot,  under 
existing  conditions,  be  broadly  united  into  one  great  reservation, 
because  they  lie  within  the  bounds,  not  of  one  municipality,  but  of 
five.  When  new  legislation  shall  have  provided  an  instrument 
by  which  the  unifying  work  which  has  been  done  in  Lynn  may  be 
accomplished  in  the  divided  Fells,  the  people  of  Boston,  Cam- 
bridge, Somerville  and  the  nearer  municipalities  will  soon  find 
themselves  possessed  of  a common  domain  which,  with  its  Spot 
Pond,  its  Bear  Hill,  its  Pine  Hill  and  its  many  less  conspicuous 
but  delightful  ponds,  pools,  brooks  and  crags,  will  rival,  if  it  will 
not  surpass,  Lynn  Woods. 

Westward  once  more,  beyond  the  Mystic  River  valley,  the  swell- 
ing highlands  of  Winchester,  Arlington  and  Belmont  are  far  less 
rugged  than  those  of  Lynn,  Saugus,  Melrose  and  the  Fells.  They 
are  cultivable  in  most  parts,  while  in  Arlington  the  so-called 
Heights  have  become  a suburban  colony,  the  inhabitants  of  which 
can  see  the  New  Hampshire  mountains  in  one  direction  and  the 
ocean  in  the  other.  Two-thirds  of  the  way  over  to  the  Charles 


* See  illustrations  Nos.  1,  2,  3,  5,  6,  7. 


cos 

□□ffl 

m 

HOT 

1893.] 


HOUSE  — No.  150. 


95 


River  valley,  Beaver  Brook  issues  from  the  highlands  through  a 
miniature  gorge  and  then  flows  among  some  glacial  ridges  upon 
which  stand  the  largest  surviving  oak  trees  of  our  district.*  The 
waterfall  in  the  little  gorge  and  this  famous  grove  of  oaks  should 
certainly  be  preserved  ; but  this  cannot  be  accomplished  under  any 
statutes  now  in  force,  because  the  brook  is  the  dividing  line 
between  Belmont  and  Waltham.  Again,  as  in  the  case  of  the 
Fells,  an  instrumentality  new  to  our  community  is  needed. 

Still  following  along  the  front  of  the  highlands,  past  Owl  Hill 
and  Cedar  Hill,  it  is  not  until  the  heart  of  Waltham  is  reached 
that  any  present  need  of  a large  open  space  appears.  Here  is  a 
rapidly  increasing  community  which  is  fortunate  in  finding  at  its 
very  doors  both  a pretty  river  and  a great  and  rugged  hill.  The 
river’s  surface  is  perhaps  twenty  feet  above  the  average  level  of 
the  sea ; the  hilltop  one  mile  distant  from  the  river  rises  to  an  ele- 
vation of  four  hundred  and  sixty  feet.  One  who  stands  upon  it 
looks  eastward  down  the  Charles  River  valley  to  where  the 
golden  dome  of  the  State  House  glistens  against  the  distant 
blue  horizon  of  the  sea.  The  slopes  of  the  hill,  still  pre- 
served from  ugly  scais,  present  several  particularly  attractive 
spots,  and  the  neighboring  but  lesser  Bear  Hill  has  a distinct 
beauty  of  its  own.  The  whole  tract  lies  within  the  bounds  of 
Waltham,  so  that  there  is  nothing  to  prevent  the  opening  of  a 
reservation  on  this  hill  through  local  action.  The  hill,  however,  is 
so  well  placed,  both  with  reference  to  the  view  up  and  down  the 
Charles  valley  and  with  respect  to  its  position  in  the  metropolitan 
district,  that  it  would  merit  the  attention  of  whatever  metropolitan 
parks  board  may  be  established. 

Leaving  Prospect  Hill  and  Bear  Hill,  it  is  but  a short  distance  to 
the  large  collecting  reservoir  owned  by  the  city  of  Cambridge. 
Here  the  waters  of  Stony  Brook  are  held  in  a long  narrow  valley 
before  setting  out  for  Cambridge  or  escaping  to  the  Charles.  At 
the  mouth  of  the  stream  is  the  stone  tower  built  by  Professor 
Horsford  to  mark  his  conception  of  the  site  of  a Norse  city,  and  at 
the  valley’s  head  is  a rocky  passage  through  which  the  brook  enters 
the  reservoir  with  a rush. 

The  point  now  reached  is  just  half-way  around  the  inland  circuit 
of  the  metropolitan  district ; in  other  words,  it  is  ten  miles  due 
west  from  the  State  House.  Moreover,  it  is  at  the  meeting  place 
of  the  Charles  River  and  the  northern  highlands.  The  lower 


* See  illustration  No.  14. 


96 


METROPOLITAN  PARKS. 


[Jan. 


reaches  of  the  river  and  the  easy  roads  of  its  valley  lead  thence 
through  populous  regions  to  the  city,  while  the  upper  river  valley 
leads  south-eastward  along  the  border  of  the  metropolitan  district 
towards  the  southern  highland  of  the  Blue  Hills.  So  central  a 
situation,  should,  if  possible,  afford  a large  and  interesting  public 
recreation  ground,  and  it  is  most  fortunate  that  nature  has  here 
provided  all  the  elements  and  placed  them  ready  to  our  hands.  If 
to  the  charming  water  park  of  Charles  River  and  Stony  Brook 
there  be  added  not  only  Prospect  Hill  to  the  north  of  the  reser- 
voir but  also  Doublet  Hill  on  the  south,  a very  satisfactory 
reservation  will  be  obtained.  The  latter  hill,  while  not  so  high  as 
Prospect,  commands  more  pleasing  views  of  the  river  valley,  while 
from  the  surface  of  the  stream  it  is  itself  an  attractive,  and  some- 
times an  imposing,  object. 

Passing  now  up  the  Charles  River  valley  toward  the  southern 
highlands,  it  is  well  to  stop  for  a moment  at  the  wonderful  little 
gorge  of  Newton  Upper  Falls,  where  the  river  cuts  its  way 
through  ledges  clothed  with  hemlocks.*  The  narrow  stream  flows 
swift  and  dark  between  quaintly  broken  rocks,  and  the  great  stone 
arch  which  bears  the  Sudbury  River  aqueduct  leaps  boldly  across 
from  bank  to  bank.  Like  the  brook  and  the  oaks  at  Waverley  this 
is  a spot  of  uncommon  interest  and  beauty,  which,  because  it  lies 
within  the  bounds  of  three  municipalities,  can  be  preserved  for  the 
delight  of  the  public  only  by  some  co-operative  or  metropolitan 
agency. 

Where  Charles  River  makes  its  great  bend  in  Dedham  we  leave 
the  stream  in  order  to  discover  the  southern  counterpart  of  the  Fells. 
As  Bear  Hill  in  Stoneham  is  eight  miles  north  north-west  from  the 
State  House  and  three  hundred  and  twenty-five  feet  high,  so 
Bellevue  Hill  in  West  Roxbury  is  seven  miles  south  south-west  and 
of  practically  the  same  elevation.  The  growing  suburbs  of  West 
Roxbury,  Dedham  and  Hyde  Park  surround  it,  and  town  streets 
are  even  now  climbing  its  slopes  ; but,  on  the  Hyde  Park  side,  there 
still  remains  a large  area  of  exceedingly  rough  and  steep  land,  in 
the  midst  of  which  is  concealed  a low-lying  pool  called  Muddy 
Pond.f  From  the  summit  of  Bellevue,  whence  the  sea  is  in  full 
view,  to  the  shore  of  this  pond  is  half  a mile,  but  the  descent  is 
more  than  two  hundred  feet.  Half-way  down,  if  we  pause  for  a 
moment  on  the  Dedham  turnpike,  or  on  one  of  the  many  jutting 


* See  illustration  No.  19. 
f See  illustration  No.  21. 


§ 


Peddock’s  Island,  from  Point  Pemberton. 


- ■ ■ ■'  ■■  ■ 

■ ' ' V ' ' ■ ; S . -,.’■ 

•SVSVVv  WCKrt'»«l\  .\vO  Y^.-;Vjv;\  O 

O'SftV  i\s  ^\\m\srwV«^  V-vm*^  vRi*f\t 

-mm*  Yw*.y»  s's’iwvw  i4fttv'\. 

t *vi^^WVfiii^  tNPl  »'.'  Vm  f.v'-  • 


u>  *it 


Quincy 


^ ^ 


1893.] 


HOUSE  — No.  150. 


97 


ledges  of  rock,  we  shall  see  over  the  pond,  the  pine  woods  of  the 
valley,  and  the  half-concealed  town  of  Hyde  Park,  the  range  of  the 
Blue  Hills,  — no  longer  the  pale  blue  masses  which  we  saw  from 
Lynn  Woods  and  the  Fells,  but  near  by  and  sharply  cut.*  This 
striking  view,  the  panorama  from  the  hill-top,  and  the  sheltered 
wildness  of  the  deep  valley  of  the  pond,  render  Bellevue  Hill  with 
the  Muddy  Pond  woods  the  most  valuable  open  space  now  obtain- 
able in  this  section  of  the  metropolitan  district.  This  is,  how- 
ever, another  case  for  metropolitan  action,  for  the  boundary  which 
divides  Hyde  Park  from  Boston  also  divides  these  woods. 

Crossing  the  Neponset  valley  we  at  last  reach  the  Blue  Hills,  — the 
“ mountains  ” of  the  metropolitan  district. f Although  they  extend 
hardly  one-fourth  the  length  of  the  northern  range  of  rock-hills 
their  average  elevation  is  three  times  as  great.  So  considerable  a 
barrier  do  they  present,  that  the  railroads,  the  creators  of  suburbs, 
have  avoided  them  entirely,  — with  the  result  that  in  all  the  five  miles 
from  the  eastern  base  of  Rattlesnake  Hill  to  the  western  foot  of  the 
Big  Blue  there  are  not  yet  a half-dozen  buildings  standing  on  the 
hills  above  the  contour  of  two  hundred  feet.  There  are,  indeed,  in 
all  this  distance  only  two  roads  which  cross  the  range.  From  end 
to  end  the  wilderness  is  still  practically  continuous.  The  hunting 
of  foxes  and  raccoons  is  still  carried  on  in  it.  Its  separated  hills 
are  far  larger,  if  no  bolder,  than  the  others  we  have  seen.  The 
notches  or  passes  between  the  hills  are  often  deep  and  steep-sided, 
and  the  views  down  the  side  valleys  to  the  sea,  or  out  over  the 
seeming  plain  of  south-eastern  Massachusetts,  are  surprising 
and  grand.  It  is  true  that  the  original  forest  was  swept  away 
years  ago,  and  its  substitute  of  oak  and  chestnut  is  a little  monot- 
onous ; on  the  other  hand  the  highest  parts  of  all  the  hills  are 
variously  clothed  with  scrub  oaks,  cedars,  pines  and  other 
toughest  growths,  while  the  many  narrow  and  shady  defiles 
shelter  other  species  of  their  own,  among  them  the  mountain 
laurel,  which  is  very  rare  near  Boston.  If  the  people  of  metro- 
politan Boston  care  to  possess  in  common  a park  such  as  any 
king  would  be  proud  to  call  his  own,  a public  forest  possessed 
of  vastly  finer  scenery  than  any  of  the  great  public  woods  of 
Paris  can  show,  a recreation  ground  far  surpassing  in  its  re- 
freshing value  even  London’s  Epping  Forest,  they  have  only 
to  possess  themselves  of  the  still  cheap  lands  of  the  Blue  Hills. 


* See  illustration  No.  20. 
f See  frontispiece. 


98 


METROPOLITAN  PARKS. 


[Jan. 


Like  the  other  highlands  which  have  been  mentioned  these  Hills 
stand  wholly  within  the  sweep  of  the  eleven-mile  radius  from 
the  State  House.  They  lie  south  of  Boston  as  the  Lynn  Woods 
lie  north ; and  if  it  is  well  for  the  public  to  possess  the  northern 
reservation,  it  will  be  even  better  for  it  to  own  the  grander  south- 
ern heights. 

Lastly,  and  speaking  with  reference  to  all  the  open  spaces  thus 
far  mentioned,  it  only  remains  to  point  out  that,  once  they  are 
acquired,  they  need  cost  little  for  maintenance  and  nothing  for 
improvement,  at  least  for  many  years.  They  are  all  of  a kind 
which,  if  forest  fires  are  prevented,  will  take  care  of  themselves. 
Moreover,  their  first  cost  need  not  at  all  alarm  the  taxpayers  of 
the  district.  A study  of  valuations  and  acreage  would  seem  to 
warrant  an  estimate  that  one  million  dollars  will  more  than  suffice 
to-day  to  purchase  all  the  highlands  herein  named.  In  other 
words,  there  are  needed  only  as  many  dollars  as  there  are  inhabi- 
tants of  the  metropolitan  district.  This  being  so,  it  ought  not  to 
be  long  before  the  combined  action  of  the  metropolitan  population 
shall  make  the  hills  their  own. 

The  Ponds  and  Streams.  — When  it  comes  to  examining  the 
little  lakes  and  rivers  of  the  metropolitan  district  their  ease  is  found 
to  be  different  from  that  of  the  rock-hills.  Population,  which  has 
everywhere  avoided  the  heights,  has,  like  the  waters,  settled  in  the 
valleys.  Indeed  most  of  the  centres  of  suburban  populations  are 
crowded,  like  Hyde  Park  and  Waltham,  upon  the  very  banks  of 
streams.  Thus  at  first  sight  it  seems  as  if  the  proposed  resump- 
tion of  the  banks  by  the  public  were  already  impracticable,  if 
not  impossible,  so  great  must  be  the  expenditure  which  tbe  work  of 
rescue  must  entail.  On  the  other  hand,  as  already  pointed  out,  the 
advantages  the  whole  community  would  reap  from  public  owner- 
ship of  the  water  ways  are  so  many  and  great  that  the  endeavor 
to  secure  them  cannot  be  abandoned  hastily  or  without  a careful 
study  of  the  facts  and  the  possibilities. 

The  streams  as  they  flow  through  the  district  on  their  way  to  the 
sea  must,  therefore,  next  be  followed  ; and  for  this  purpose  the 
Mystic,  Charles  and  Neponset  had  better  be  taken,  rather  than 
their  more  rural  mates,  the  streams  of  Saugus  and  Weymouth. 

The  Abbajona,  as  the  upper  Mystic  River  is  called  in  Winchester, 
is  already  by  no  means  a clean  stream  ; and  yet,  below  the  last 
of  the  tanneries  which  pollute  it,  the  appearance  of  the  winding 
rivulet  and  its  banks  is  quite  delightful,  particularly  where  it 
passes  under  a quaint  little  bridge  to  find  its  outlet  in  the  Upper 


It) 

■Ofl 


By  permission  of  Charles  Pollock,  Hamilton  Place,  Boston. 


1893.] 


HOUSE  — No.  150. 


99 


Mystic  Lake.  Here  is  a natural  pond  converted  by  a dam  into  a 
collecting  reservoir  of  the  Boston  water  works.  Its  shores  are 
intricate  in  outline  and  attractively  wooded,  but  much  of  this 
attractiveness  may  be  destroyed  at  any  time,  for  the  city  of 
Boston  owns  hardly  anything  more  than  the  land  under  water. 
Below  the  dam  the  lower  lake  lies  so  low  that  its  waters  feel 
the  ebb  and  flow  of  the  tide.  We  are  still  eight  miles  in  a 
straight  line  from  the  sea  and  in  the  mouth  of  one  of  the  gaps 
in  the  northern  range  of  rock-liills ; yet  just  after  the  Mystic 
River  has  quitted  this  lower  lake  there  appears  a little  flat  of 
salt  marsh  upon  either  hand,  and  from  this  point  to  the  river’s 
mouth  this  green  border  of  meadow  is  never  absent.  Down  to 
Medford  the  marsh  on  the  left  bank  is  bounded  by  a fine  tree- 
clad  bluff  of  upland,  from  which  some  of  the  solid  mansions  of 
a hundred  years  ago  still  look  southward  across  the  sunny  open  of 
the  river.  At  Cradock  bridge  buildings  are  crowded  to  the 
water’s  edge,  and  just  below  the  bridge  is  the  head  of  navigation, 
where  ships  were  built  while  there  was  still  ship  timber  in  the 
Fells,  and  where  now  an  occasional  schooner  discharges  a freight 
of  coal,  lime  or  lumber.  From  the  lower  wharf  the  view  south- 
eastward and  Boston-ward  includes  what  seems  an  ever-widening 
salt  marsh,  through  which  the  channel  winds  in  broadening  loops, 
one  of  which  swings  out  of  the  sunlight  of  the  meadows  into 
the  shadow  of  the  steep  Winter  Hill  of  Somerville.  Three  or  four 
manufacturing  concerns,  of  the  sort  which  require  cheap  lands  and 
no  near  neighbors,  have  set  up  buildings  on  the  marsh  ; but  there 
is  no  considerable  settlement  upon  the  river  bank  until  after  the 
lesser  Malden  River  has  entered  from  the  north  and  the  long  rail- 
road bridges  have  been  passed.  Here  the  channel  becomes  deep 
enough  to  float  considerable  vessels,  and  a huge  chemical  factory 
and  many  coal  “ pockets  ” are  seen.  Thus  far,  excepting  for  a 
short  distance  near  Cradock  bridge,  there  is  really  nothing  to  pre- 
vent the  reservation  of  the  banks  for  public  use ; and  ultimately, 
though  perhaps  many  years  hence,  the  construction  of  a river  road 
which  would  provide  the  pleasantest  possible  route  to  Boston  from 
Medford,  Arlington  and  Winchester  and  all  the  towns  beyond. 
Below  the  railroad  bridges  commerce  should  undoubtedly  pos- 
sess the  river ; so  that  travellers  by  the  river  road,  if  bound  to 
Boston,  will  have  to  make  their  way  through  Charlestown,  or  over 
that  boulevard  terminating  in  Haymarket  Square,  which  the  con- 
solidation of  the  railroads  will  make  it  possible  to  lay  out,  approxi- 
mately on  the  present  location  of  the  old  Boston  & Maine  line. 


100 


METROPOLITAN  PARKS. 


[Jan. 


If,  on  the  other  hand,  the  traveller  from  up  the  river  is  bent  on 
pleasure  and  desires  to  drive  to  the  sea,  it  will  not  be  difficult 
to  provide  him  with  an  easy  and  pleasant  way  crossing  Malden 
River  near  its  mouth,  passing  by  the  head  of  Island  End  Creek 
and  so  down  Snake  Creek  and  by  a branch  of  Belle  Isle  Creek  to 
the  southern  end  of  Revere  Beach.*  This  route  will  bring  the 
ocean  beach  within  six  and  one-half  miles  of  Cradock  bridge, 
Medford,  within  seven  miles  of  Harvard  Square,  Cambridge,  and 
within  correspondingly  short  distances  of  many  other  places  whose 
inhabitants  at  present  never  think  of  driving  to  the  sea  because  of 
the  miles  of  pavement  which  must  be  traversed  on  the  way. 

Doubtless  the  feasibility  of  reserving  so  continuous  an  open 
space  will  largely  depend  upon  the  temper  of  the  owners  of  the 
river  lands.  If  they  can  see  their  own  advantage,  the  needed 
reservation  will  be  obtained  almost  as  soon  as  a metropolitan  parks 
board  can  be  created.  If,  however,  for  any  reason  the  continuous 
space  should  prove  out  of  the  question,  the  metropolitan  board 
should  at  all  events  possess  itself  of  the  valley  and  mouth  of  Island 
End  Creek,f  which  lies  within  the  bounds  of  Chelsea  and  Everett 
and  is  the  only  space  which  now  remains  convenient  to  the  popula- 
tions of  those  two  growing  cities. 

Proceeding  now  to  Waltham,  Charles  River  should  be  followed  in 
its  course  through  the  very  middle  of  the  metropolitan  district.  As 
far  as  Watertown  the  stream  is  of  fresh  water,  flowing  tranquilly 
through  lowlands.  A few  large  mills  are  seated  on  its  banks, 
but  outside  of  the  closely  built  parts  of  Waltham  and  Watertown 
the  shores  are  generally  quite  free  from  buildings.  Half-way 
between  the  towns  is  the  mouth  of  Cheese-Cake  Brook,  where  the 
city  of  Newton  is  practically  illustrating  the  treatment  which,  with 
local  modifications,  should  be  applied  to  all  the  larger  waterways 
of  the  district  as  soon  as  the  lands  about  them  are  demanded  for 
building  purposes.  Instead  of  covering  the  stream  with  back 
yards  or  a street,  the  watercourse  is  placed  in  an  open  strip  of 
grassy  or  bushy  ground,  upon  each  side  of  which  is  constructed 
a roadway  affording  access  to  houses  built  facing  the  stream.  In 
this  way  three  results  are  brought  about  at  once.  The  pollution 
of  the  stream  is  effectually  prevented,  a handsome  thoroughfare 
is  created,  and  the  value  of  adjacent  real  estate  is  so  enhanced 
that  it  much  more  than  makes  good  the  subtraction  of  the  brook 


* See  illustrations  Nos.  9 and  10. 
f See  illustration  No.  8. 


1893.] 


HOUSE  — No.  150. 


101 


102 


METROPOLITAN  PARKS. 


[Jan. 


banks  which  have  been  given  to  the  public.  The  treasury  of  the 
city  of  Newton  will  soon  be  more  than  reimbursed  by  the  increase 
of  the  taxable  values  aloqg  the  stream. 

Below  the  dam  at  Watertown  Charles  River  is  salt,  and  bordered 
by  salt  marshes  backed  by  more  or  less  distant  uplands.  Out  of 
a total  length  of  sixteen  miles  of  bank,  from  Watertown  bridge 
to  Craigie  bridge  and  back  again,  almost  four  miles  are  already 
controlled  by  public  or  semi-public  agencies.  Among  the  rest  the 
United  States  Arsenal,  the  Cambridge  Cemetery,  the  Corporation 
of  Harvard  College  and  the  city  of  Boston  all  own  long  frontages, 
— a part  of  Boston’s  river  front  has  already  become  a popular 
promenade  and  playground,  known  as  the  Charlesbank.  More- 
over, the  percentage  of  the  remaining  frontage  occupied  by 
costly  structures  is  very  small.  Most  of  the  marginal  proprietors 
are  still  at  liberty  to  do  what  they  choose  with  their  own.  It  must 
be  evident  to  them  that  the  use  of  the  river  for  shipping  purposes 
is  almost  at  an  end.  Navigation  by  masted  vessels  cannot  be  con- 
tinued much  longer,  because  of  the  intolerable  interruption  to 
traffic  caused  by  the  opening  of  the  draws  of  the  crowded  bridges. 
This  being  admitted,  the  question  arises  whether  the  most  profit 
will  in  the  end  be  reaped  by  offering  the  river  lands  to  the  builders 
of  factories  and  slums,  or  by  drawing  to  them  the  builders  of 
good  private  and  apartment  houses.  One  numerous  body  of 
marsh  and  flat  owners  has  already  staked  its  money  on  the  belief 
that  the  most  profit  is  to  be  derived  from  the  last-named  method  of 
procedure.  Acting  on  this  conviction  the  Charles  River  Embank- 
ment Company  has  given  the  city  of  Cambridge  a riverside 
esplanade  two  hundred  feet  wide  and  five  thousand  feet  long, 
in  the  rear  of  which  it  is  building  a series  of  fine  streets  which 
converge  upon  Harvard  bridge.  In  Watertown  another  company 
of  landowners  is  about  to  lay  out  a large  tract  of  riverside  upland 
upon  a similar,  though  a more  rural,  plan.  In  Boston  around  the 
so-called  Fens,  and  in  Brookline  and  Boston  along  the  improved 
Muddy  River,*  real  estate  is  already  reaping  the  advantages  arising 
from  the  successful  conversion  of  a damaging  nuisance  into  a 
profit-making  attraction.  What  has  been  done  in  these  last-named 
places  can  gradually  be  done  in  less  expensive  ways  along  Charles 
River  whenever  a metropolitan  commission,  free  to  act  in  several 
cities  and  towns,  shall  be  impowered  to  co-operate  with  the  local 


* See  diagram  on  page  104. 


1893.] 


HOUSE— No.  150. 


103 


<5*7* 


104 


METROPOLITAN  PARKS. 


[Jan. 


1893.] 


HOUSE  — No.  150. 


105 


landowners  in  pushing  forward  a work  which  cannot  fail  to  profit 
both  the  landowners  and  the  public. 

For  the  descent  of  our  third  river  — the  Neponset  — the  start 
should  be  made  from  Dedham.  A small  tributary  of  the  Neponset, 
called  Mother  Brook,  has  here  been  artificially  supplied  by  means 
of  a canal  with  an  overflow  of  water  from  the  meandering  Charles, 
so  that  we  find  a good  canoe  stream,  which,  in  the  course  of  two 
charming  miles,  brings  us  among  the  factories  of  the  town  of  Hyde 
Park.  The  brook  flows  crookedly  between  high  banks  of  trees  in 
a valley  surprisingly  little  injured  by  the  occasional  factories  which 
use  the  water  power.  The  mills  are  still  half  concealed  by  trees 
and  by  the  very  narrowness  and  crookedness  of  the  valley.  In 
some  parts  there  are  already  brookside  roads  having  fringes  of 
trees  between  them  and  the  water.  In  other  parts  the  banks  afford 
beautiful  views  down  the  descending  valley  to  the  Great  Blue  Hill 
and  its  mates.  On  the  other  hand,  in  Hyde  Park,  where  the  brook 
joins  the  river,  we  have  a striking  exhibition  of  the  abuse  of 
streams.  The  river  is  here  a sewer,  and  its  bank  a rubbish  dump 
and  continuous  back  yard.  . 

Passing  through  Mattapan  to  the  head  of  the  tide  at  the  foot  of 
Milton  Hill  several  long-established  factories  are  met,  but  no  very 
evil  places.  Along  most  of  the  way  the  banks  are  beautifully 
fringed  with  trees  and  bushy  thickets,*  and  in  some  parts  the  desir- 
able river  roads  already  exist.  At  length,  with  a rush  between  two 
great  brick  chocolate  mills,  the  fresh  water  river  makes  a sudden 
turn,  and,  sweeping  around  a last  pine-clad  point,  flows  out  to  join 
the  tide  of  the  salt  marshes.  Just  here  is  one  of  the  most  pictur- 
esque spots  in  the  whole  neighborhood  of  Boston,  and  one  which 
well  illustrates  the  fact  that  the  evidences  of  human  industry,  such 
as  the  wharves,  sheds  and  schooners  which  here  are  mixed  with 
trees  and  rocks,  may  often  be  very  helpful  to  the  effectiveness  of 
scenery. 

The  marshes  bordering  our  river  from  this  point  to  the  lower 
bridge  are  framed  with  woods  and  especially  adorned  by  two 
wooded  knolls  or  islands.  As  yet  there  is  not  a single  building  to 
mar  the  beauty  of  their  open  levels,  the  best  view  of  which  is  had 
from  near  the  Neponset  bridge,  where  the  oak  islands,  Milton  Hill 
and  the  Great  Blue  Hill,  looming  in  the  distance,  compose  a quiet 
landscape  such  as  is  hardly  to  be  found  elsewhere  within  our 


* See  illustration  No.  24. 


106 


METROPOLITAN  PARKS. 


[Jan. 


district.*  Beyond,  on  the  way  to  Squantum,  are  two  striking  rocky 
knolls  covered  with  dark  cedars  and  surrounded  by  the  marsh, 
and  then  a winding  marsh  road  is  traversed,  scarcely  raised  above 
the  level  of  the  waters  of  the  bay,  which  now  appear  on  either 
hand. 

As  the  ocean  at  Revere  Beach  was  reached  by  a ten-mile  drive 
from  Winchester  down  the  valley  of  Mystic  River,  so  now  the  bay 
shore  at  Squaw  Rock  is  reached  by  a ten-mile  drive  from  Dedham 
down  the  lovelier  valley  of  the  Neponset.  Half-way  between  these 
northern  and  southern  river  ways  we  find  Charles  River,  leading,  by 
another  course  of  ten  miles,  from  Waltham  through  the  very  centre 
of  the  metropolitan  district  to  the  basin  just  west  of  the  State 
House.  Nature  appears  to  have  placed  these  streams  just  where 
they  can  best  serve  the  needs  of  the  crowded  populations  gather- 
ing fast  about  them.  Moreover,  if  action  is  taken  quickly  to 
establish  an  executive  body  charged  with  the  duty  of  defending 
and  asserting  the  interest  of  the  whole  community  in  the  right 
treatment  of  these  rivers,  there  will  not  be  found  to  be  any 
very  great  difficulty  in  acquiring,  in  some  parts  that  public  owner- 
ship of  the  banks,  and  in  other  parts  that  simple  right  of  way,  which 
is  all  that  is  essential  at  present.  The  self-interest  of  the  river 
landowners,  and  the  self-interest  of  the  separate  river  towns,  will 
conspire  to  assist  such  a new  board  in  its  work.  A great  benefit 
to  the  public  would  practically  be  assured  from  the  start. 

There  remains  one  other  kind  of  inland  open  space  of  more  than 
local  yet  of  not  such  general  value  as  the  rivers,  — the  ponds  of 
the  district,  about  which,  as  in  the  case  of  the  rivers,  there  ought 
generally  to  be  a protecting  public  way,  even  if  it  be  no  more  than 
a footpath.  Here  again  the  intelligent  interest  of  speculative  land- 
owners  will  in  time  effect  something,  — the  more  quickly  if  such 
private  interest  can  be  encouraged  by  a board  officially  represent- 
ing the  public  interest  in  such  works.  What  can  be  done  is  well 
illustrated  at  Lake  Quannapowitt,f  where  a public  road  follows  a 
tree-fringed  shore  for  more  than  a mile,  and  gives  access  to  the 
boating  which  the  lake  affords.  Most  of  the  ponds  are,  however, 
too  small  for  boating ; so  that  those  who  take  pleasure  in  that 
sport  make  use  of  the  Charles  River  between  Waltham  and 
Dedham,  — a part  of  the  river  thus  far  omitted  because,  for  the 
purposes  of  this  report,  it  is  to  be  regarded  as  one  long  pond. 


* See  illustration  No.  26. 
t See  illustration  No.  4. 


' " !!f 


31.  Nantasket  Beach,  Hull.  By  permission  of  Charles  Pollock,  Hamilton  Place,  Boston. 


1893.] 


HOUSE  — No.  150. 


107 


From  Waltham  to  Newton  Lower  Falls  the  stream  is  still  idyllic  in 
its  beauty,  though  threatened  here  and  there  by  monstrous  ugli- 
ness. Hundreds  of  persons  from  Boston  and  many  other  parts  of 
the  district  are  to  be  found  here  every  pleasant  afternoon  in 
summer.  In  all  this  district  there  is  no  other  place  where  quiet 
boating  in  such  surroundings  can  be  had.* 

Must  all  this  beauty  of  the  upper  river,  with  all  its  valuable 
opportunities  for  recreation,  be  destroyed?  The  town  of  Brookline 
and  the  cities  of  Newton  and  Waltham  draw  their  water  supplies 
from  this  valley ; and  for  the  protection  of  those  supplies  they 
already  own  between  Waltham  and  Dedham  some  six  out  of  a total 
of  twenty  miles  of  river  bank.  They  ought  to  own  much  more  ; and 
as  in  the  Fells  a metropolitan  commission  might  do  the  public  great 
service  by  joining  the  domains  of  the  various  water  boards,  so  here 
upon  the  Charles  River  the  same  body  might  likewise  do  much  for 
the  public  by  encouraging  further  purchases,  by  accepting  the 
charge  of  gifts  of  lands,  and  by  showing  the  landowners  and  the 
towns  the  many  dangers  both  to  health  and  to  property  which 
the  continued  private  ownership  of  the  banks  will  entail. 

The  Bay  and  the  Sea.  — As  already  seen,  about  one-fourth  of  the 
whole  area  swept  by  a radius  of  fifteen  miles  from  the  State  House 
is  occupied  by  the  bay  and  the  open  ocean.  Here,  accordingly,  is 
Boston’s  one  great  “open  space,”  whence  comes  her  famous  east 
wind  with  many  another  blessing  in  disguise.  Most  of  the  sheltered 
bay  is  shallow,  yet  sufficiently  deep  for  pleasure  craft  of  small 
tonnage,  some  eight  hundred  of  which  are  owned  in  the  metro- 
politan district,  — many  more  than  can  be  counted  in  any  other 
harbor  of  the  Atlantic  coast,  not  excepting  the  grand  bay  of  New 
York.  In  summer  the  channels  among  the  islands  are  sometimes 
fairly  thronged  with  crafts,  among  which  pass  the  pleasure  steamers 
which  daily  carry  thousands  to  the  fine  seashore  of  Nantasket  or 
Nahant. 

Viewing  these  pleasant  scenes  of  healthful  recreation  it  is 
a delight  to  think  that  all  is  as  it  should  be,  that  here  at 
last  is  a section  of  the  district  where  nature  has  supplied  the 
people  with  the  best  sort  of  a park,  — an  inalienable  pleasure 
ground  such  as  cannot  be  enclosed  for  private  use,  cannot  be 
damaged  and  cannot  be  improved.  Yet,  if  this  is  the  first  thought 
the  second  is  of  ominous  tenor.  True  is  it  that  the  waters  cannot 
but  remain  free  to  all ; but  can  the  same  be  said  of  the  shores  ? 


* See  illustrations  Nos.  15,  16,  17,  18,  19. 


108 


METROPOLITAN  PARKS. 


[Jan. 


Upon  inquiry  it  will  be  learned  that  of  all  the  ocean  shore  of 
the  metropolitan  district  only  Nahant  Beach,  which  is  a high- 
way, belongs  to  the  public.  Even  within  the  bay  the  public 
holdings  are  but  few.  To  be  sure,  most  of  the  islands  belong 
either  to  the  United  States  or  to  the  city  of  Boston,  but  they  are 
used  for  forts,  reformatories,  hospitals  and  poorhouses.  They 
might  easily  be  clothed  with  foliage,*  to  the  great  improvement  of 
the  scenery  of  the  bay,  but  they  cannot  well  be  given  over  to  the 
use  of  the  general  public.  On  the  bay  shore  of  the  mainland  only 
the  city  of  Boston  owns  any  public  spaces,  these  being  Wood  Island 
at  East  Boston,  the  Marine  Park  and  the  Old  Harbor  Parkway  at 
South  Boston,  and  the  main  drainage  reservations  at  the  Cow 
Pasture,  Squaw  Rock  and  Moon  Island.  Everybody  recognizes 
the  value  of  these  bayside  spaces,  they  are  more  popular  than 
any  of  the  other  great  works  of  the  Boston  park  commission,  they 
point  the  way  by  which  a metropolitan  parks  commission  may  at 
once  win  public  favor  and  support. 

Boston  has  now  done  nearly  all  that  can  be  done  upon  the 
shore  within  her  limits.  If  the  public  is  to  own  any  of  the  ocean 
front  and  any  more  of  the  bay  shore,  divided  as  both  are  among 
many  towns  and  cities,  it  can  only  be  through  the  encouraging  and 
helping  activity  of  a metropolitan  parks  commission.  And  when 
such  a commission  is  established,  what  should  be  its  first  work 
upon  the  shore  ? The  answer  is,  — the  acquirement  of  the  title  to 
the  foreshore  and  the  beach  from  Winthrop  Great  Head  to  the 
Point  of  Pines.  Winthrop  Head  stands  almost  due  east  from  the 
State  House,  and  looks  eastward  and  seaward  half-way  between 
the  promontories  of  Nahant  and  Hull.f  Between  it  and  Grover’s 
Cliff  the  beach  is  already  owned  in  common  by  the  proprietors  of 
the  crowded  houses  on  its  crest.  Grover’s  Cliff  is  the  property 
of  the  United  States.  It  is  only  along  Revere  Beach  that  diffi- 
culty will  be  encountered  in  securing  free  public  access  to  the 
shore.  The  present  condition  of  this  fine  beach  is  a disgrace.  J 
Two  railroads  and  a highway  have  been  built  upon  it,  without 
regard  to  either  the  safety  and  convenience  of  the  public  or  the 
development  of  the  highest  real-estate  values.  The  railroads 
cared  only  for  a location  which  would  enable  them  to  use  the 
beach  as  an  attraction  to  draw  passengers.  No  account  was  taken 


* Compare  illustrations  Nos.  28  and  29. 
f See  illustration  No.  11. 

X See  illustration  No.  12. 


1893.] 


HOUSE  — No.  150. 


109 


of  the  fact  that  swarms  of  people  must  induce  a demand  for  build- 
ings, and  so  the  buildings  have  had  to  find  sites  where  best  they 
could,  generally  between  the  highway  and  the  sea.  A thorough 
reformation  is  called  for  here,  in  the  interest  not  only  of  the  gen- 
eral public  but  also  of  the  beach  proprietors  and  the  treasury 
of  Revere.  The  real  interests  of  the  railroads  demand  a proper 
arrangement  of  the  beach.  Its  capabilities  as  a place  of  residence, 
equipped  with  a broad  esplanade  and  drive,  and  lined  with  houses 
and  hotels  facing  the  south-east  and  the  sea,  are  as  yet  not 
understood  ; * nevertheless,  the  time  is  coming  when  they  will  be 
understood,  and  when  that  public  control  of  the  shore  which  can 
now  be  brought  about  at  comparatively  little  cost  will  be  appreciated 
at  its  worth. 


Conclusion. 

The  circuit  of  the  rock-hills,  the  streams  and  the  shores  of  the 
district  has  now  been  completed,  and  it  only  remains  to  add  a few 
words  of  general  application. 

In  proposing  the  acquisition  of  the  particular  spaces  named, 
I have  been  influenced  by  nothing  but  my  view  of  the  public 
needs  and  my  estimate  of  the  district’s  financial  powers.  That 
the  proposed  open  areas  lie  so  symmetrically  within  the  district, 
Lynn  Woods  mating  with  the  Blue  Hills,  the  Fells  with  Muddy 
Pond,  the  Oaks  with  the  Hemlock  Gorge  and  the  Mystic  River 
with  the  Neponset,  is  due  to  nature. 

As  to  the  bounds  of  the  proposed  areas,  I have  not  attempted  to 
define  them  with  precision.  When  the  time  comes,  they  should  in 
every  case  be  so  placed  that  the  street  departments  of  the  several 
towns  and  cities  may  find  it  easy  to  construct  roads  immediately 
adjacent  to  the  boundaries  and  continuous  therewith.  Doubtless 
in  many  places  the  abutting  landowners  will  give  the  lands  which 
may  be  needed  for  such  roads  in  view  of  the  advantages  their 
property  will  derive  therefrom. 

In  conclusion,  it  may  be  well  to  point  out  that  the  cost  of  the 
maintenance  of  all  the  metropolitan  open  spaces  need  not,  for 
many  years  at  least,  exceed  the  expense  of  guarding  them  from 
forest  fires  and  other  forms  of  depredation ; on  the  other  hand,  if 
the  community  should  wish  to  clean  the  streams,  build  paths  or 


* See  illustration  No.  13. 


110 


METROPOLITAN  PARKS.  [Jan.’93. 


roads,  or  do  any  other  proper  work  within  the  reservations,  it 
would  find  in  the  Parks  Commission  an  instrument  to  do  its 
bidding. 

I desire,  before  closing,  to  express  my  thanks  to  the  engineers 
and  clerks  of  the  towns  and  cities  of  the  district  for  the  informa- 
tion which  many  of  them  have  kindly  furnished. 

CHARLES  ELIOT. 

726  Exchange  Building,  Boston,  Jan.  2,  1893. 


NOTES  ON  THE  MAP. 


This  map  represents  the  neighborhood  of  Boston  on  a scale  of  a 
trifle  more  than  one  mile  to  each  inch,  — a scale  to  which  the  people  of 
the  United  States  are  now  accustomed,  because  it  is  used  by  the  national 
geological  survey  for  all  its  maps  of  the  populous  regions  of  the  country. 
The  contour  lines  of  the  map  are  copied  from  the  original  sheets  in  the 
office  of  the  State  topographical  survey.  It  should  be  said  that  they  are 
but  roughly  sketched  and  inaccurate  in  many  places;  nevertheless,  they 
display  the  general  form  of  the  surface  and  the  relative  elevation  of 
different  parts  of  the  district  in  a manner  not  otherwise  possible.  The 
rock-hills,  the  rounded  drumlins,  the  wandering  streams,  the  marshes, 
the  salt  creeks  and  the  wave-built  beaches  of  the  coast  are  all  clearly 
brought  out. 

Principal  highways  and  those  traversed  by  street  railways  are 
shown  upon  this  map  by  double  lines ; all  other  streets  and  roads  by 
single  lines.  Where  streets  are  built  upon  filled  flats  or  marshes  the 
black  street  lines  are  printed  over  the  marsh  color;  the  great  extent 
of  the  low  and  filled  lands  is  thus  indicated  at  a glance. 

Railroads  are  shown  by  the  usual  convention,  and  the  crossings  of 
the  streets  are  distinguished  according  as  they  are  overhead,  underneath 
or  at  one  grade. 

Existing  commons,  squares,  parks  and  other  open  spaces  reserved 
for  public  recreation  or  for  the  protection  of  water  supplies,  and  having 
an  area  of  two  acres  or  more,  are  printed  in  green,  and  numbered  to 
correspond  with  the  key  on  the  next  page. 

Open  spaces  suggested  in  the  landscape  architect’s  report  are  colored 
buff.  As  stated  in  the  report,  the  boundaries  of  these  spaces  have  not 
been  studied  in  detail ; if  they  had  been  the  small  scale  of  the  map 
would  preclude  showing  them.  The  scale  of  the  map  has  likewise  made 
it  necessary  to  print  the  buff  color  along  the  streams  and  in  some  other 
parts  without  regard  to  those  special  parcels  of  real  estate,  such  as 
cemeteries,  churches,  established  mills  and  the  like,  which  a metro- 
politan commission  would  hardly  think  of  buying,  since  agreements 
made  with  their  owners  would  in  most  cases  accomplish  all  that  is 
essential. 


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KEY  TO  FIGURES  ON  THE  MAP 


OPEN  SPACES. 

1.  Boston  Common  „ . . 

2.  Public  Garden  .... 

3.  Commonwealth  Avenue 

4.  Charlesbank 

5.  Back  Bay  Fens  .... 

6.  Blackstone  Square  . . 

7.  Franklin  Square  . . . 

8.  Monument  Square  . . 

9.  Charlestown  Heights 

10.  Playground 

11.  Wood  Island  Park  . . 

12.  Commonwealth  Park  . 

13.  Telegraph  Hill  .... 

14.  Independence  Square  . 

15.  Marine  Park 

16.  Castle  Island  .... 

17.  Rogers  Park 

18.  Chestnut  Hill  Reservoir 

19.  Playground 

20.  Playground 

21.  Playground 

22.  Muddy  River  Parkway  . 

23.  Old  Brookline  Reservoir 

24.  Brookline  Reservoir  . . 

25.  Fisher  Hill  Reservoir  . 

26.  Madison  Square  . . . 

27.  Orchard  Park  .... 

28.  Parker  Hill  Reservoir  . 

29.  Highland  Park  .... 

30.  Washington  Park  . . . 

31.  Fountain  Square  . . . 

32.  Jamaica  Pond  .... 

33.  Arnold  Arboretum  . . 

34.  Franklin  Park  .... 

35.  Franklin  Field  .... 

36.  Dorchester  Park  . . . 

37.  Squaw  Rock 

38.  Moon  Island 

39.  Merrymount  Park  . . 

40.  Faxon  Park 

41.  Quincy  Water  Reserve  . 

42.  French’s  Common  . . 

43.  Webb  Park 

44.  Beals  Park 

45.  Hull  Common  .... 

46.  Dedham  Common  . . 

47.  Boston  Parental  School 

Grounds  .... 

48.  Brookline  Waterworks 

49.  Brookline  Water  Reserve 

50.  Brookline  Water  Reserve 

51.  Newton  Water  Reserve 

52.  Needham  Common  . . 

53.  Waban  Hill  Reservoir  . 


CONTROLLED  BY 

Boston  Department  of 
Public  Grounds. 

Boston  Department  of 
Public  Grounds. 

Boston  Department  of 
Public  Grounds. 

Boston  Park  Commission. 

Boston  Park  Commission. 

Boston  Department  of 
Public  Grounds. 

Boston  Department  of 
Public  Grounds. 

Bunker  Hill  Monument 
Association. 

Boston  Park  Commission. 

Boston  Park  Commission. 

Boston  Park  Commission. 

Boston  Department  of 
Public  Grounds. 

Boston  Department  of 
Public  Grounds. 

Boston  Department  of 
Public  Grounds. 

Boston  Park  Commission. 

Boston  Park  Commission. 

Boston  Department  of 
Public  Grounds. 

Boston  Water  Board. 

Brookline  Selectmen. 

Brookline  Selectmen. 

Brookline  Selectmen. 

Boston  and  Brookline 
Park  Commissions. 

Boston  Water  Board. 

Brookline  Water  Board. 

Boston  Water  Board. 

Boston  Department  of 
Public  Grounds. 

Boston  Department  of 
Public  Grounds. 

Boston  Water  Board. 

Boston  Department  of 
Public  Grounds. 

Boston  Department  of 
Public  Grounds. 

Boston  Department  of 
Public  Grounds. 

Boston  Park  Commission. 

Boston  Park  Commission. 

Boston  Park  Commission. 

Boston  Park  Commission. 

Boston  Park  Commission. 

Boston  Improved  Sewer- 
age Department. 

Boston  Improved  Sewer- 
age Department. 

Quincy  Park  Commission. 

Quincy  Park  Commission. 

Quincy  Water  Board. 

Braintree  Selectmen. 

Weymouth  Park  Commis- 
sion. 

Weymouth  Park  Commis- 
sion. 

Hull  Park  Commission. 

Dedham  Selectmen. 

Trustees. 

Brookline  Water  Board. 

Brookline  Water  Board. 

Brookline  Water  Board. 

Newton  Water  Board. 

Needham  Selectmen. 

Newton  Water  Board. 


OPEN  SPACES. 

54.  Farlow  Park 

55.  Playground  ...... 

56.  River  Park,  Weston  . . . 

57.  Auburndale  Park  .... 

58.  River  Park,  Auburndale  . 

59.  Cambridge  Water  Reserve 

60.  Waltham  Water  Works 

61.  Waltham  Common  . . . 

62.  Watertown  Common  . . 

63.  United  States  Arsenal  . . 

64.  Fresh  Pond  Reservoir  . . 

65.  Cambridge  Common  . . . 

66.  Broadway  Common  . . . 

67.  The  Esplanade 

68.  Central  Hill  Park  .... 

69.  Broadway  Park  .... 

70.  Powder  House  Park  . , . 

71.  Mystic  Reservoir  .... 

72.  Mystic  Water  Works  . . 

73.  Arlington  Heights  . . . 

74.  Arlington  Water  Reserve  . 

75.  Lexington  Common  . . . 

76.  Boston  Water  Reserve  . . 

77.  Winchester  Common  . . 

78.  Woburn  Park 

79.  Winchester  Water  Reserve 

80.  Bear  Hill  Park' 

81.  Melrose,  Malden  and  Med- 

ford Water  Reserve 

82.  Medford  Water  Reserve  . 

83.  Virginia  Wood 

84.  Playground 

85.  Wakefield  Common  . . . 

86.  Lake  Park 

87.  Sewall’s  Wood 

88.  Eastern  Common  .... 

89.  Waitt’s  Mount 

90.  Malden  Water  Works  . . 

91.  Chelsea  Common  .... 

92.  United  States  Marine  and 

Naval  Hospitals  . . . 

93.  United  States  Battery  . . 

94.  United  States  Battery  . . 

95.  Lynn  Common 

96.  Lynn  Woods 

97.  Lynn  Water  Reserve  . . 

98.  Meadow  Park 

99.  Oceanside  Terrace  . . . 

100.  Nahant  Long  Beach  . . . 

101.  Nahant  Short  Beach  . . . 

102.  Devereux  Beach  . . . . 

103.  Marblehead  Park  . . . . 

104.  Crocker  Rock 

105.  Fort  Sewall  ...... 

106.  Fort  Glover 


CONTROLLED  BY 

Newton  Department  of 
Public  Grounds. 

Newton  Department  of 
Public  Grounds. 

Weston  Selectmen. 

Newton  Department  of 
Public  Grounds. 

Newton  Department  of 
Public  Grounds. 

Cambridge  Water  Board. 

Waltham  Water  Board. 

Waltham  Department  of 
Public  Grounds. 

Watertown  Selectmen. 

National  Government. 

Cambridge  Water  Board. 

Cambridge  Department  of 
Public  Grounds. 

Cambridge  Department  of 
Public  Grounds. 

Cambridge  Department  of 
Public  Grounds. 

Somerville  Department  of 
Public  Grounds. 

Somerville  Department  of 
Public  Grounds. 

Somerville  Department  of 
Public  Grounds. 

Boston  Water  Board. 

Boston  Water  Board. 

Arlington  Selectmen. 

Arlington  Water  Board. 

Lexington  Selectmen. 

Boston  Water  Board. 

Winchester  Selectmen. 

Woburn  Park  Commis- 
sion. 

Winchester  Water  Board. 

Stoneham  Park  Commis- 
sion. 

Joint  Water  Board. 

Medford  Water  Board. 

Trustees  of  Public  Reser- 
vations. 

Stoneham  Selectmen. 

Wakefield  Selectmen. 

Wakefield  Selectmen. 

Melrose  Park  Commis- 
sion. 

Melrose  Park  Commis- 
sion. 

Malden  Water  Board.* 

Malden  Water  Board. 

Chelsea  Department  of 
Public  Grounds. 

National  Government. 

National  Government. 

National  Government. 

Lynn  Park  Commission. 

Lynn  Park  Commission. 

Lynn  Water  Board. 

Lynn  Park  Commission. 

Lynn  Park  Commission. 

Nahant  Selectmen. 

Nahant  Selectmen. 

Marblehead  Selectmen. 

Marblehead  Park  Com- 
mission. 

Marblehead  Park  Com- 
mission. 

Marblehead  Selectmen. 

Marblehead  Selectmen. 


APPENDICES. 


Draft  for  an  Act  recommended  by  tbe  Metropolitan  Park  Com- 
mission. 


<£ommom»ealt[)  of  Jftassacfyusetts. 


In  the  Year  One  Thousand  Eight  Hundred  and  Ninety-three. 


AN  ACT 

To  establish  a Metropolitan  Parks  Commission. 

Be  it  enacted  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives 
in  General  Court  assembled , and  by  the  authority  of  the 
same , as  follows : 

1 Section  1.  The  governor  by  and  with  the 

2 advice  and  consent  of  the  council  shall  appoint 

3 five  persons,  who  shall  constitute  a board  to  be 

4 known  as  the  Metropolitan  Parks  Commission. 

5 The  members  of  this  board  shall  hold  office  re- 
G spectively  for  the  terms  of  one  year,  two  years, 

7 three  years,  four  years  and  five  years,  beginning 

8 with  the  first  Monday  in  May,  1893;  and  annually 

9 thereafter  the  governor  shall  appoint  as  aforesaid 

10  one  such  commissioner  to  hold  office  for  the  term 

11  of  five  years  beginning  with  the  first  Monday  in 

12  May  in  the  year  of  his  appointment;  and  if  any 

13  vacancy  occurs  in  said  board  by  resignation  or 

14  otherwise  the  governor  shall  in  like  manner 


116 


METROPOLITAN  PARKS. 


[Jan. 


15  appoint  one  or  more  commissioners  for  the  residue 

16  of  the  term,  and  may  also  remove  any  commis- 

17  sioner.  The  members  of  said  board  shall  serve 

18  without  compensation,  but  their  travelling  and 

19  other  necessary  expenses  shall  be  allowed  and 

20  paid ; and  no  person  employed  by  the  board  shall 

21  be  a member  thereof. 

1 Sect.  2.  Said  board  shall  annually  choose 

2 one  of  its  members  chairman,  and  may  from  time 

3 to  time  appoint  a clerk  or  secretary,  and  such 

4 other  employees  as  it  deems  necessary  to  carry 

5 out  the  purposes  of  this  act:  it  may  determine 

6 the  duties  and  compensation  of  such  appointees; 

7 remove  the  same  at  pleasure,  and  make  all 

8 reasonable  rules  and  regulations.  Said  board 

9 shall  have  a suitable  office,  where  its  maps,  plans, 

10  documents,  records  and  accounts  shall  be  kept, 

11  subject  to  public  inspection  at  such  times  as 

12  the  board  may  determine.  On  or  before  the  first 

13  "Wednesday  in  February  in  each  year,  said  board 

14  shall  make  a report  of  its  proceedings  to  the 

15  General  Court,  together  with  a full  statement  of 

16  its  receipts  and  disbursements. 

1 Sect.  3.  The  jurisdiction  and  powers  of  said 

2 board  shall  extend  to  and  may  be  exercised  in  the 

3 cities  of  Boston,  Cambridge,  Chelsea,  Everett, 

4 Lynn,  Malden,  Medford,  Newton,  Quincy, 

5 Somerville,  Waltham  and  Woburn,  and  in  the 

6 towns  of  Arlington,  Belmont,  Braintree,  Brook- 


1893.] 


APPENDIX. 


117 


7 line,  Canton,  Dedham,  Hingham,  Hull,  Hyde 

8 Park,  Melrose,  Milton,  Nahant,  Needham,  Revere, 

9 Saugus,  Stoneham,  Swampscott,  Wakefield, 

10  Watertown,  Wellesley,  Weston,  Weymouth, 

11  Winchester  and  Winthrop;  which  cities  and 

12  towns  shall  constitute  the  Metropolitan  Parks 

13  District. 

1 Sect.  4.  Said  board  shall  have  power  to 

2 acquire,  maintain  and  make  available  to  the 

3 inhabitants  of  said  district  open  spaces  for  exercise 

4 and  recreation;  and  to  this  end,  acting  so  far  as 

5 may  be  in  consultation  with  the  proper  local 

6 boards,  shall  be  authorized  to  take,  in  fee  or 

7 otherwise,  in  the  name  and  for  the  benefit  of  the 

8 Commonwealth,  by  purchase,  gift,  devise  or 

9 eminent  domain,  lands  and  rights  in  land  for 

10  public  open  spaces  within  said  district,  or  to  take 

11  bonds  for  the  conveyance  thereof;  and  to  preserve 

12  and  care  for  such  public  reservations,  and  also,  in 

13  the  discretion  of  said  board  and  upon  such  terms 

14  as  it  may  approve,  such  other  open  spaces  within 

15  said  district  as  may  be  entrusted,  given  or 

16  devised  to  said  board  or  to  the  Commonwealth 

17  by  the  United  States,  or  by  cities,  towns,  cor- 

18  porations  or  individuals  for  the  general  purposes 

19  of  this  act  or  for  any  one  or  more  of  such  purposes 

20  as  the  donor  may  designate:  provided , however , 

21  that  no  private  property  taken  for  the  purpose 

22  of  this  act  shall  be  taken  under  the  right  of  eminent 

23  domain  without  the  concurrence  of  a majority  of 


118 


METROPOLITAN  PARKS. 


[Jan. 


24  the  board.  In  furtherance  of  the  powers  herein 

25  granted  said  board  may  employ  a suitable  police 
2G  force,  make  rules  and  .regulations  for  the  govern- 

27  ment  and  use  of  the  public  reservations  under 

28  their  care,  and  for  breaches  thereof  affix  penalties 

29  not  exceeding  twenty  dollars  for  one  offence,  to 

30  be  imposed  by  any  court  of  competent  jurisdiction; 

31  and  in  general  may  do  all  acts  needful  for  the 

32  proper  execution  of  the  powers  and  duties  granted 

33  to  and  imposed  upon  said  board  by  the  terms  of 

34  this  act.  Said  board  shall  also  have  power  to 

35  expend  such  funds,  whether  principal  or  income, 

36  as  may  be  given  in  trust  as  provided  for  in  the 

37  following  section. 

1 Sect.  5.  The  treasurer  and  receiver-general 

2 of  the  Commonwealth  is  hereby  authorized  and 

3 empowered  with  the  approval  of  the  governor  and 

4 council,  to  receive  and  hold  in  trust  for  the 

5 Commonwealth,  exempt  from  taxation,  any  grant 

6 or  devise  of  lands  or  rights  in  land  and  any  gift 

7 or  bequest  of  money  or  other  personal  prop- 

8 erty  made  for  the  purposes  of  this  act,  and  shall 

9 preserve  and  invest  the  proceeds  thereof  in  notes 

10  or  bonds  secured  by  good  and  sufficient  mort- 

11  gage  or  other  securities.  Said  trust  property 

12  shall  be  known  as  the  “Metropolitan  Parks  Trust 

13  Fund,”  and  shall  be  used  and  expended  under  the 

14  direction  of  the  Metropolitan  Parks  Commission, 

15  and  subject  to  its  orders. 


1893.] 


APPENDIX. 


119 


1 Sect.  6.  Any  city  or  town  within  said  district, 

2 or  any  local  board  of  such  city  or  town,  with  the 

3 latter’s  consent,  is  hereby  authorized  and  empow- 

4 ered  to  transfer  the  care  and  control  of  any  open 

5 space  owned  or  controlled  by  it,  to  the  Metro- 

6 politan  Parks  Commission,  upon  such  terms  and 

7 for  such  period  as  may  be  mutually  agreed  upon; 

8 or  to  enter  into  an  agreement  with  said  com- 

9 mission  for  the  joint  care  or  preservation  of  open 

10  spaces  within  or  adjacent  to  such  city  or  town: 

11  and  the  Metropolitan  Parks  Commission  may  in 

12  like  manner  transfer  the  care  and  control  of  any 

13  open  space  controlled  by  it  to  any  local  board  of 

14  a city  or  town  within  the  said  district,  with  the 

15  consent  of  such  city  or  town,  and  upon  such 
1G  terms  and  for  such  period  as  may  be  mutually 
17  agreed  upon. 

1 Sect.  7.  Said  board  shall  estimate  and  deter- 

2 mine  as  near  as  may  be  all  damages  sustained  by 

3 any  person  or  corporation  by  the  taking  of  land, 

4 or  right  therein,  under  this  act;  but  any  one 

5 aggrieved  by  such  determination  of  the  board 

6 may  have  damages  assessed  by  a jury  of  the 

7 superior  court  in  the  same  manner  as  is  provided 

8 by  law  with  respect  to  damages  sustained  by 

9 reason  of  the  laying  out  of  ways.  If  upon  trial 

10  damages  are  increased  beyond  the  award  of  the 

11  board  the  aggrieved  party  shall  recover  costs, 

12  otherwise  such  party  shall  pay  costs;  and  costs 

13  shall  be  taxed  as  in  civil  cases:  but  no  suit  for 


120 


METROPOLITAN  PARKS. 


[Jan. 


14  such  damages  shall  be  brought  after  the  expira- 

15  tion  of  two  years  from  the  date  of  the  recording 

16  of  the  taking,  as  required  by  the  following  section. 

1 Sect.  8.  Within  sixty  days  after  any  land,  or 

2 right  therein,  is  acquired  or  taken  under  this  act, 

3 the  board  shall  file  and  cause  to  be  recorded  in 

4 the  proper  registry  of  deeds  a description  thereof 

5 sufficiently  accurate  for  its  identification,  with  a 

6 statement  of  the  purpose  for  which  the  same  is 

7 acquired  or  taken,  which  description  shall  be 

8 signed  by  a majority  of  said  board. 

1 Sect.  9.  To  meet  the  expenses  incurred 

2 under  the  provisions  of  this  act,  the  treasurer  and 

3 receiver-general  shall,  with  the  approval  of  the 

4 governor  and  council,  issue  scrip  or  certificates 

5 of  debt  in  the  name  and  behalf  of  the  Com  mo  n- 

6 wealth  and  under  its  seal  to  an  amount  not 

7 exceeding  one  million  dollars,  for  a term  not 

8 exceeding  forty  years.  Said  scrip  or  certifi- 

9 cates  of  debt  shall  be  issued  as  registered  bonds 

10  or  with  interest  coupons  attached,  and  shall 

11  bear  interest  not  exceeding  four  per  cent,  per 

12  annum,  payable  semi-annually  on  the  first  days 

13  of  January  and  July  in  each  year.  Such  scrip 

14  or  certificates  of  debt  shall  be  designated  on  the 

15  face  as  the  Metropolitan  Parks  Loan;  shall  be 

16  countersigned  by  the  governor,  and  shall  be 

17  deemed  a pledge  of  the  faith  and  credit  of  the 

18  Commonwealth,  redeemable  at  the  time  speci- 


1893.] 


APPENDIX. 


121 


19  tied  therein  in  gold  coin  of  the  United  States, 

20  and  shall  be  sold  and  disposed  of  at  public 

21  auction,  or  in  such  other  mode,  and  at  such  times 

22  and  prices,  and  in  such  amounts  and  at  such 

23  rates  of  interest  not  exceeding  four  per  cent,  per 

24  annum,  as  the  governor  and  council  shall  deem 

25  best.  The  treasurer  and  receiver-general  shall, 

26  on  issuing  any  of  said  scrip  or  certificates  of 

27  debt,  establish  a sinking  fund,  and  apportion 

28  an  amount  to  be  paid  thereto  each  year  sufficient 

29  with  its  accumulations  to  extinguish  the  debt  at 

30  maturity.  Any  premium  realized  on  the  sale  of 

31  said  scrip  or  certificates  of  debt  shall  be  applied 

32  to  the  payment  of  the  interest  on  said  loan  as  it 

33  accrues. 

1 Sect.  10.  The  supreme  judicial  court  sitting 

2 in  equity  shall,  on  the  application  of  said  board 

3 and  after  notice  to  each  of  the  cities  and  towns 

4 hereinbefore  named,  appoint  three  commissioners, 

5 who  shall  not  be  residents  of  such  cities  or  towns, 

6 who  shall,  after  due  notice  and  hearing  and  in 

7 such  manner  as  they  shall  deem  just  and  equitable, 

8 determine  the  proportion  in  which  each  of  such 

9 cities  and  towns  shall  annually  pay  money  into 

10  the  treasury  of  the  Commonwealth  for  the  term 

11  of  five  years  next  following  the  year  of  the  first 

12  issue  of  said  scrip  or  certificates,  to  meet  the 

13  requirements  of  this  act  for  each  of  said  years, 

14  and  shall  return  their  award  into  said  court;  and 

15  when  said  award  shall  have  been  accepted  by 


METROPOLITAN  PARKS. 


122 


[Jan. 


16  said  court  the  same  shall  be  a final  and  conclusive 

17  adjudication  of  all  matters  herein  referred  to 

18  said  commissioners  and  shall  be  binding  on  all 

19  parties.  Said  commissioners  shall  fix  and  return 

20  the  proportion  to  be  paid  by  the  city  of  Boston 

21  for  the  first  period  of  five  years  at  fifty  per  cent. 

22  of  the  whole.  Before  the  expiration  of  said  term 

23  of  five  years  and  every  five  years  thereafter  three 

24  commissioners,  who  shall  not  be  residents  of 

25  any  of  the  cities  or  towns  constituting  the 

26  Metropolitan  Parks  District,  shall  again  be 

27  appointed  as  aforesaid,  who  shall  in  such  manner 

28  as  they  deem  just  and  equitable  determine  the 

29  proportion  in  which  each  of  said  cities  and  towns 

30  shall  annually  pay  money  into  the  treasury  of  the 

31  Commonwealth  as  aforesaid  for  the  next  succeed- 

32  ing  term  of  five  years,  together  with  any  deficiency 

33  in  the  amount  previously  paid  in,  as  found  by  said 

34  treasurer,  and  shall  return  their  award  into  said 

35  court;  and  when  said  award  shall  have  been 

36  accepted  by  said  court  the  same  shall  be  a final 

37  and  conclusive  adjudication  of  all  matters  herein 

38  referred  to  said  commissioners  and  shall  be  bind- 

39  ing  on  all  parties. 

1 Sect.  11.  The  Metropolitan  Parks  Commission 

2 shall  annually  estimate  the  expenses  of  preserva- 

3 tion  and  necessary  care  of  said  public  reservations 

4 for  the  ensuing  year,  and  certify  the  same  to  the 

5 treasurer,  who  shall  apportion  said  expenses  in 

6 the  manner  provided  in  the  following  section: 


1893.] 


APPENDIX. 


123 


7 provided , however , that  such  expenses  shall  not 

8 exceed  the  sum  of  ten  thousand  dollars  during 

0 the  first  year,  nor  exceed  the  sum  of  twenty 
10  thousand  dollars  during  any  succeeding  year. 

1 Sect.  12.  The  amount  of  money  required  each 

2 year  from  each  city  and  town  of  the  Metropolitan 

3 Parks  District  to  meet  the  interest,  sinking 

4 fund  requirements  and  expenses  aforesaid  for 

5 each  year,  and  deficiency,  if  any,  shall  be  esti- 

6 mated  by  the  treasurer  of  the  Commonwealth 

7 in  accordance  with  the  proportion  determined  as 

8 aforesaid,  and  shall  be  included  in  and  made  a 

9 part  of  the  sum  charged  to  such  city  or  town, 

10  and  be  assessed  upon  it  in  the  apportionment 

11  and  assessment  of  its  annual  state  tax;  and  said 

12  treasurer  shall  in  each  year  notify  each  city  and 

13  town  of  the  amount  of  such  assessment,  which 

14  amount  shall  be  paid  by  the  city  or  town  into 

15  the  treasury  of  the  Commonwealth  at  the  time 

16  required  for  the  payment  and  as  a part  of  its 

17  state  tax. 

1 Sect.  13.  The  supreme  judicial  court  shall 

2 have  jurisdiction  in  equity  to  enforce  the  pro- 

3 visions  of  this  act,  and  shall  fix  and  determine 

4 the  compensation  of  all  commissioners  appointed 

5 by  said  court  under  the  provisions  hereof. 


124 


METROPOLITAN  PARKS. 


[Jan. 


[B.] 

Draft  for  an  Act  recommended,  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Metropolitan 
Park  Commission. 

Commcmtoealtf)  of  Jttasoadjuodts. 


In  the  Year  One  Thousand  Eight  Hundred  and  Ninety-three. 


AN  ACT 

In  Addition  to  an  Act  for  the  Laying-out  of  Public 
Parks  by  Towns  and  Cities. 

Be  it  enacted  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives 
in  General  Court  assembled , and  by  the  authority  of  the 
same , as  follows: 

1 Section  1.  Any  board  of  park  commissioners 

2 constituted  under  the  authority  of  chapter  one 

3 hundred  and  fifty-four  of  the  acts  of  eighteen 

4 hundred  and  eighty-two,  as  amended  by  chapter 

5 two  hundred  and  forty  of  the  acts  of  eighteen 

6 hundred  and  ninety,  or  of  any  special  acts,  shall 

7 have  power  to  connect  any  public  park,  boulevard 

8 or  driveway  under  its  control  with  any  part  of 

9 any  city  or  town  in  this  Commonwealth  wherein 

10  it  has  jurisdiction,  by  selecting  and  taking  any 

11  connecting  street  or  streets,  or  part  thereof,  lead- 

12  ing  to  such  park,  and  shall  also  have  power  to 

13  accept  and  add  to  any  such  park  any  street  or 


1893.] 


APPENDIX. 


125 


14  part  thereof  which  adjoins  and  runs  parallel  with 

15  any  boundary  line  of  the  same;  provided , that 

16  the  consent  of  the  public  authorities  having  con- 

17  trol  of  any  such  street  or  streets  so  far  as  selected 

18  and  taken,  and  also  the  consent  in  writing  of 

19  the  owners  of  a majority  of  the  frontage  of  the 

20  lots  and  lands  abutting  on  such  street  or  streets 

21  so  far  as  taken,  shall  be  first  obtained. 

1 Sect.  2.  Such  board  of  park  commissioners, 

2 or  such  public  authorities  as  are  by  law  authorized 

3 to  levy  taxes  or  assessments  for  the  maintenance 

4 of  such  parks,  shall  have  power  to  improve  such 

5 street  or  streets  as  they  may  deem  best,  and  for 

6 that  purpose  they  are  hereby  authorized  to  pay 

7 for  the  improvement  thereof,  and  from  time  to 

8 time  to  levy  or  cause  to  be  levied  and  collected  a 

9 special  tax  or  assessment  on  contiguous  property 

10  abutting  upon  such  streets  so  improved,  for  a sum 

11  of  money  not  exceeding  the  estimated  cost  of  such 

12  first  improvement  or  improvements  as  shall  be 

13  ordered  and  estimated  by  such  board  of  park 

14  commissioners,  but  not  for  any  subsequent  repairs 

15  thereof ; and  to  that  end  such  board  or  public 

16  authorities  shall  have  all  the  power  and  authority 

17  now  or  hereafter  granted  to  them,  respectively, 

18  relative  to  the  levy,  assessment  and  collection  of 

19  taxes  or  assessments  for  corporate  purposes.  And 

20  such  special  taxes  or  assessments  as  are  hereby 

21  authorized  may  be  divided  into  not  exceeding 

22  four  annual  instalments,  bearing  interest  at  the 


126 


METROPOLITAN  PARKS. 


[Jan. 


23  rate  of  six  per  cent,  per  annum  from  the  date  of 

24  confirmation  until  paid.  And  the  said  assess- 

25  ments  or  instalments  thereof  shall  he  collected 

26  and  enforced  in  the  same  manner  as  is  provided 

27  by  law  for  the  collection  and  enforcement  of  other 

28  taxes  or  assessments  for,  or  on  account  of,  such 

29  bodies  or  boards,  so  far  as  the  same  are  applicable. 

1 Skct.  3.  Such  park  boards  shall  have  the 

2 same  power  and  control  over  the  streets  or  parts 

3 of  streets  taken  under  this  act  as  are,  or  may  be, 

4 by  the  law  vested  in  them  of  and  concerning  the 

5 parks,  boulevards  or  driveways  under  their  con- 

6 trol. 

1 Sect.  4.  In  case  any  such  streets  or  parts 

2 thereof  shall  pass  from  the  control  of  any  such 

3 park  board,  the  power  and  authority  over  the 

4 same  granted  or  authorized  by  this  act  shall 

5 revert  to  the  proper  corporate  authorities  of  such 

6 city  or  town,  respectively,  as  aforesaid. 

1 Sect.  5.  Any  city  or  town  shall  have  full 

2 power  and  authority  to  invest  any  of  such  park 

3 boards  with  the  right  to  control,  improve  and 

4 maintain  any  of  the  streets  of  such  city  or  town 

5 for  the  purpose  of  carrying  out  the  provisions 

6 of  this  act. 

1 Sect.  6.  This  act  shall  take  effect  upon  its 

2 passage. 


1893.] 


APPENDIX, 


127 


[C.] 


Draft  for  an  Act  recommended  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Metropolitan 
Park  Commission. 

Commonujcaltl)  of  Jflassacljusdts. 


In  the  Year  One  Thousand  Eight  Hundred  and  Ninety-three. 


AN  ACT 

To  facilitate  the  procuring  of  Playgrounds  by  Cities 

and  Towns. 

Be  it  enacted  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives 
in  General  Court  assembled , and  by  the  authority  of  the 
same , as  follows: 

1 Section  1.  Any  city  or  town  within  the 

2 Commonwealth  is  hereby  authorized  and  empow- 

3 ered  to  take  land  and  rights  in  land,  in  fee  or 

4 otherwise,  within  its  limits  by  gift,  purchase, 

5 eminent  domain  or  otherwise,  or  to  hire  or  lease 

6 the  same  for  such  period  and  at  such  annual  ren- 

7 tal  as  may  be  agreed  upon,  and  to  hold,  preserve 

8 and  maintain  such  land  as  public  playgrounds: 

9 provided , however , that  no  land  shall  be  purchased, 

10  taken  or  hired  for  this  purpose  until  an  appropria- 

11  tion  sufficient  to  cover  the  estimated  expense 

12  thereof  shall  in  a city  have  been  made  by  the  city 

13  council,  or  in  a town  by  a legal  town  meeting. 


128 


METROPOLITAN  PARKS. 


[Jan. 


14  When  a park  commission  constituted  under  the 

15  laws  of  this  Commonwealth  exists  or  is  hereafter 

16  established  in  a city  or  town,  the  powers  and 

17  duties  granted  or  imposed  by  this  act  shall  be 

18  exercised  through  such  park  commission. 

1 Sect.  2.  The  city  or  town  or  its  park  com- 

2 mission,  as  the  case  may  be,  shall  estimate  and 

3 determine  as  near  as  maybe  all  damages  sustained 

4 by  any  person  or  corporation  by  the  taking  of 

5 land  or  by  other  acts  in  execution  of  the  powers 

6 herein  granted;  but  any  party  aggrieved  by  such 

7 determination  may  have  the  damages  assessed  by 

8 a jury  of  the  superior  court  in  the  same  manner 

9 as  is  provided  by  law  with  respect  to  damages 

10  sustained  by  reason  of  the  laying  out  of  ways.  If 

11  upon  trial  damages  shall  be  increased  beyond  the 

12  award,  the  party  shall  recover  costs;  otherwise, 

13  he  shall  pay  costs;  and  costs  shall  be  taxed  as  in 

14  civil  cases.  Within  sixty  days  after  the  taking  of 

15  any  land  under  this  act,  the  city  or  town  or  park 

16  commission,  as  the  case  may  be,  shall  file  and  cause 

17  to  be  recorded  in  the  proper  registry  of  deeds  a 

18  description  thereof  sufficiently  accurate  for  identi- 

19  fication ; and  no  suit  for  damages  shall  be  brought 

20  after  the  expiration  of  two  years  from  the  date  of 
2L  such  recording. 

1 Sect.  3.  When  the  estimated  expense  of 

2 acquiring  such  land  by  purchase  or  eminent 

3 domain  will,  with  any  existing  debt,  cause  the 


1893.] 


APPENDIX. 


129 


4 debt  of  the  city  or  town  to  exceed  the  debt  limit 

5 now  imposed  by  law,  such  city  or  town  is  hereby 

6 authorized  to  defray  the  expense  by  the  issue  of 

7 a bond  or  bonds,  to  an  amount  not  exceeding  one- 

8 half  of  one  per  cent,  of  the  assessed  valuation  of 

9 said  city  or  town,  to  run  for  such  period  and  to  be 

10  at  such  rate  of  interest  as  the  city  or  town  deems 

11  best;  which  bonds  shall  be  known  and  designated 

12  on  their  face  as  the  Play  Ground  Bonds  of  the 

13  city  or  town  issuing  them,  and  shall  constitute  a 

14  first  mortgage  lien  on  the  land  so  acquired,  in 

15  addition  to  the  ordinary  security  afforded  by  the 

16  city  or  town;  and  in  case  of  breach  of  condition 

17  of  said  mortgage  bond  or  bonds,  the  mortgagee 

18  or  mortgagees  may  foreclose  in  the  usual  manner. 

19  For  the  redemption  of  said  Play  Ground  Bonds 

20  the  city  or  town  issuing  the  same  may  or  may  not 

21  establish  a sinking  fund. 


130 


METROPOLITAN  PARKS. 


[Jan. 


[D.] 


Draft  for  an  Act  recommended  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Metropolitan 
Park  Commission. 


€ommom»eaUl)  of  iflassactyusetts. 


In  the  Year  One  Thousand  Eight  Hundred  and  Ninety-three. 


AN  ACT 


To  encourage  the  Building  of  Tenement-houses 
around  Garden  or  Playground  Spaces. 

1 "Whenever  in  any  city  of  the  Commonwealth, 

2 or  in  any  town  of  the  Metropolitan  Parks  Dis- 

3 trict  of  Boston,  as  defined  in  chapter , Acts 

4 of  1893,  tenement  dwellings  are  built  about 

5 enclosed  spaces  designed  for  garden  and  play- 

6 ground  purposes,  said  enclosed  spaces,  upon  the 

7 approval  of  the  board  of  park  commissioners  of 

8 said  city  or  town,  or,  in  respect  to  the  Metropol- 

9 it  an  Parks  District  of  Boston,  upon  the  approval 

10  of  the  Metropolitan  Parks  Commission,  may  be 

11  leased  for  a term  of  not  exceeding  fifteen  years, 

12  but  subject  to  renewal,  at  a nominal  rental  by 

13  such  city  or  town  for  the  purposes  of  a neighbor- 

14  hood  playground;  but  the  care  of  said  enclosed 

15  spaces  shall  remain  with  the  proprietors  of  the 

16  surrounding  dwellings. 


1893.] 


APPENDIX. 


131 


[E.] 

THE  RESTORATION  OF  TREE-GROWTH  ON  THE 
ISLANDS  AND  SHORES  OF  BOSTON  HARBOR. 


[From  a report  to  the  Boston  Board  of  Park  Commissioners  made 
by  Frederick  Law  Olmsted  as  landscape  architect  advisory,  Dec. 
30,  1887.  Reproduced  from  the  Thirteenth  Annual  Report  of  the 
Boston  Park  Department.] 


I. 


The  Improvement  of  Boston’s  Advantages  as  a Summer 

Resort. 

Your  Board  has  heretofore  considered  some  aspects  of  this 
subject,  and  important  operations  are  now  in  progress  as  the 
result  of  its  deliberations,  but  the  communication  addressed 
to  it  last  Arbor  Day  by  the  Boston  Memorial  Association, 
upon  which  a report  has  been  asked,  has  obliged  an  inquiry 
to  be  made  of  broader  scope  than  has  hitherto  been  thought 
necessary. 


Between  the  wharves  of  Boston  and  the  sea,  outside  of 
Boston  Bay,  there  are  seventy-five  islands  and  islets,  fifty 
notable  projections  of  the  main-land  with  bays  between 
them,  some  of  which  are  the  mouths  of  streams,  and  a 
great  many  shoals  and  reefs  which  are  exposed,  or  upon 
which  the  sea  breaks,  at  low  water.  Between  all  these 
there  are  innumerable  sub-channels  more  or  less  navigable, 


132 


METROPOLITAN  PARKS. 


[Jan. 


according  to  the  stage  of  the  tide  and  the  depth  of  any 
object  to  be  floated  through  them.  The  rise  and  fall  of  the 
tide  varies  from  eight  to  sixteen  feet,  according  to  the  age 
of  the  moon  and  the  condition  of  the  weather,  and  the  tidal 
currents  are  liable  to  be  strong  and  complicated.  These 
circumstances  not  only  make  the  harbor  interesting  because 
of  what  meets  the  eye  of  those  passing  through  it  or  along 
its  shores,  but  they  give  fleet,  nimbly-turning  boats  a more 
marked  advantage  than  they  would  otherwise  have,  and 
make  close  calculations  and  tact  in  trimming  and  steering 
them  of  more  obvious  importance  than  they  are  in  harbors 
with  fewer  elements  of  picturesque  character.  Add  to  this 
the  further  consideration  that  from  the  time  of  the  first 
settlers  the  people  in  Boston  have  been  much  engaged  in 
fishing  ventures,  not  only  on  the  deep  sea,  but  of  a class  to 
be  pursued  with  boats  of  light  burden,  and  the  fact  will  be 
accounted  for  that  there  has  always  been  an  unusual  interest 
among  them  in  the  modelling,  building,  rigging,  and  sea- 
manship of  small  craft,  both  for  commercial  and  for  recre- 
ative use. 

The  city  government  has  recognized  this  interest,  and,  in 
an  exceptionally  systematic  way,  wisely  fostered  it  by  the 
institution  of  an  annual  regatta  with  prizes  to  winners  from 
the  public  purse.  Latterly,  at  the  suggestion  of  your  Depart- 
ment, it  has  begun  the  building  of  a promenade  pier,  provid- 
ing a fair  outlook  upon  the  harbor,  and  of  a large  basin 
especially  as  a mooring-place  for  pleasure-boats.  With  a 
possible  exception  in  Venice,  it  is  believed  that  the  people  of 
no  other  city  in  the  world  make  as  much  or  as  good  use  of 
their  harbor,  otherwise  than  commercially,  as  those  of  Boston 
have  been  long  accustomed  to  do,  and  that  none  take  as  much 
or  as  justifiable  pride  in  the  character  of  their  small  craft, 
and  their  dexterity  in  handling  them. 


1893.] 


APPENDIX. 


133 


The  success  of  the  " Mayflower,”  the  " Puritan,”  and  the 
" Volunteer  ” has  called  the  attention  of  the  world  to  the 
special  talent  thus  gradually  developed  from  the  circum- 
stances of  Boston  Harbor.  It  is,  perhaps,  more  difficult  for 
the  people  of  Boston  to  realize  the  full  value  of  their  success 
than  for  others,  taking  a more  distant  view  of  it,  to  do  so.  A 
few  incidents  may  be  recalled  to  bring  certain  bearings  of  it 
better  to  mind. 

This,  for  one : — To  all  appearances  there  had  come, 
through  inaction,  to  be  scarce  anything  left  of  the  old  Amer- 
ican regard  for  seafaring  skill  and  prowess,  when,  one  day 
last  summer,  through  all  the  interior  of  the  land,  as  well  as 
in  its  seaports,  hats  everywhere  went  up  with  such  enthu- 
siasm over  the  result  of  a sailing-match  of  pleasure-boats, 
that  no  one  could  doubt  that,  in  the  heart  of  the  nation,  little 
provocation  would  be  needed  to  stir  all  its  old  naval  ardor 
into  earnest  action. 

This,  for  another: — Certain  men,  of  other  parts  of  the 
country,  send  ten  thousand  dollars  to  a citizen  of  Boston  as 
an  expression  of  the  gratification  they  have  had  in  his  work, 
adding,  as  an  explanation,  that,  in  their  opinion,  "nothing 
has,  of  late,  redounded  more  to  the  credit  of  the  country 
abroad”  than  the  success  of  the  "Volunteer,”  because  of 
"the  earnest  concentration  of  ingenuity,”  of  which  it  testifies, 
that  Americans  will  be  found  capable  whenever  sufficient 
occasion  comes  to  draw  it  out. 

This,  for  yet  another  : — That,  because  of  the  special  talent, 
bred,  as  has  been  shown,  of  Boston  Harbor,  which  had  been 
manifest  in  the  successive  triumphs  of  the  " Mayflower,”  the 
"Puritan,”  and  the  "Volunteer,”  the  master-workman  of 
those  pleasure-boats  has  been  called  to  be  a counsellor  of  the 
Secretary  of  the  Navy,  in  a matter  of  vital  consequence  to 
the  country. 


134 


METROPOLITAN  PARKS. 


[Jan. 


And,  lastly,  this  : that  out  of  the  recent  history  of  Boston 
boats,  and  Boston  pleasure-boating,  measures  of  high  states- 
manship long  culpably  neglected,  are  plainly  coming  to 
receive  a degree  of  attention  that  can  hardly  fail  to  have 
great  results  for  the  country.  The  two  bills  now  before  Con- 
gress looking  to  a naval  volunteer  or  militia  system,  being 
examples  of  the  manner  in  which  this  new  current  of  popular 
disposition  appears. 

It  is  necessary  to  recall  such  facts  as  these,  that  too  light 
a view  may  not  be  taken  of  that  method  of  recreation  in  which 
Boston  leads  the  world,  and  of  those  conditions  of  Boston 
Harbor  out  of  which  this  leadership  has  grown. 

Relatively  to  a large  consideration  of  this  subject  attention 
is  liable  to  be  too  much  restricted  to  the  more  costly  class 
of  yachts.  In  Boston,  boating  is  a thoroughly  popular  diver- 
sion ; interest  in  it  is  wide-spread.  More  than  one  quarter  of 
all  the  registered  yachts  of  the  entire  Atlantic,  Pacific,  and 
Lake  coasts  have  their  home  berths  in  the  waters  of  the  city 
and  its  suburbs.  The  whole  number  of  masted  pleasure- 
craft  sailing  the  harbor  is  at  least  seven  hundred.  A large 
proportion  of  these  are  small  and  inexpensive  boats,  and, 
of  the  larger,  some  are  owned  by  clubs  of  industrious  men, 
individually,  of  moderate  means.  Many  of  the  owners  live 
in  the  interior,  coming  to  Boston  and  using  their  boats  only 
during  a summer’s  vacation  from  business. 

It  is  to  be  considered,  also,  that  boating  is  an  amusement 
much  enjoyed  by  many  who  take  no  part  in  it  except  as 
lookers-on  ; and,  with  reference  to  the  amusement  the  har- 
bor affords  to  these,  it  must  be  remembered  that,  besides 
pleasure-boats  proper,  Boston  has  a large  fleet  of  light  fish- 
ing-craft, among  which  not  a few  are  admirably  fashioned 
and  admirably  sailed. 

Owing  to  the  enjoyment  which  the  harbor  offers  many  ex- 
cursion trains  are  now  run  from  a distance  for  the  accommo- 


1893.] 


APPENDIX. 


135 


elation  of  those  wishing  to  visit  its  shores.  A number  of 
large  hotels,  steamboats,  and  local  railroads  have  also  been 
built  for  them.  Hundreds  of  families  live,  for  a few  weeks 
every  year,  in  tents,  pitched  at  points  looking  upon  the  har- 
bor, and,  of  late,  numerous  light,  wooden  bungalows  have 
been  built  in  situations  first  occupied  in  this  way.  Many 
sojourners  in  these  come  from  a distance. 

It  will  be  evident,  from  these  facts,  that  as,  throughout 
the  country,  the  number  of  men  increases  who  can  choose 
their  dwelling-places  independently  of  immediate  money- 
earning considerations,  and  of  men  who  are  able  and  inclined 
to  engage  in  pleasure-boating  excursions,  and  that,  as  large 
numbers  become  interested  in  aquatic  sports  and  seaboard 
scenery,  the  attractiveness  of  its  harbor  is  to  be  reckoned 
no  insignificant  element  of  the  trade  and  prosperity  of  the 
city.  It  will  then  be  evident,  further,  that  if  its  attractive- 
ness, as  a summer-resort,  can  be  materially  increased  by  a 
moderate  outlay,  it  will  be  profitable  to  make  such  outlay. 

In  what,  then,  it  is  to  be  asked,  other  than  in  the  play  of 

its  large  and  live- 
ly fleet  of  fish- 
ing and  pleasure 
craft,  does  the 
special  attractive- 
ness of  the  harbor 
consist  ? The  ad- 
joining diagram 
shows  the  pictu- 
resque disposition 
of  the  principal 
headlands,  bays, 
and  islands  (out- 
lined, approxi- 
mately, at  half 


136 


METROPOLITAN  PARKS. 


[Jan. 


tide).  The  special  attractiveness  of  the  harbor  lies  partly 
in  the  contrast  of  the  intricate  passages  and  vistas  among 
these,  with  the  unbroken  expanse  of  the  ocean  upon  which 
it  opens,  and  partly  in  the  varied  forms  of  the  bluffs,  crags, 
bars,  beaches,  and  fens  that  form  its  shores.1 

What  are  the  drawbacks  to  these  attractive  circumstances  ? 

Chief  among  them  musf  be  recognized  the  generally  hard- 
featured,  bare,  bleak,  and  inhospitable  aspect  of  the  head- 
lands and  islands.  Let  any  one,  passing  through  the  harbor, 
imagine  them  clothed  with  foliage  of  any  kind,  and  it  will 
be  felt  how  much  more  agreeable  its  character  would  be  if 
they  were  generally  wooded. 

Stumps,  that  still  remain  upon  the  most  exposed,  the 
irockiest,  and  bleakest  of  the  islands  show  that  they  for- 
merly were  wooded.  Once  cleared,  a second  growth  has 
been  prevented  by  cropping  and  pasturing.  The  land  being 
then  much  more  open  than  before  to  frost  and  drying  heat, 
rains,  gales,  and  salt  spray,  it  has  ever  since  been  losing  soil 
and  the  soil  remaining  has  been  losing  fertility.  Hence  the 
scenery  of  the  harbor  has  been  and  is  every  year  being  de- 
spoiled more  and  more  of  its  original  beauty ; its  artificial 
features  are  becoming  more  and  more*  disagreeably  conspicu- 
ous relatively  to  its  natural  features,  and  in  these  respects  it 
is  becoming  less  and  less  attractive. 

The  question  whether  the  waste  thus  in  progress  can  be 
arrested,  and  whether  what  has  been  lost  can  be  recovered, 
is,  happily,  one  to  be  answered  by  reference  to  the  result  of 
means  used  elsewhere  for  a similar  purpose. 

The  difficulties  to  be  overcome  lie  chiefly  in  the  bleakness 
and  dryness  of  much  of  the  land  most  desirable  to  be 
planted ; somewhat,  also,  at  certain  points,  to  its  exposure 

1 A full  description  of  the  various  natural  features  of  the  harbor  will  be  found  at 
p.  96  of  the  Appendix,  compiled  from  the  “ Atlantic  Coast  Pilot.” 


1893.] 


APPENDIX. 


137 


to  salt  spray.  They  are  such  that  trees  of  the  sorts  more  com- 
monly seen  in  the  lawns,  parks,  cemeteries,. and  roadsides  of 
the  landward  suburbs  of  the  city  could  not  be  wisely  planted. 
The  suggestion  offered  by  the  Memorial  Association  is  that  the 
original  forest  may  be  restored.  Should  this  be  attempted 
no  results  are  to  be  expected  that  can  be  brought  in  com- 
parison with  those  which  are,  unfortunately,  associated  in 
most  minds  with  the  term  landscape-gardening.  The  beauty 
to  be  gained  through  such  an  operation  is  not  the  beauty  of 
clusters,  clumps,  groups,  or  any  artfully  studied  combi- 
nation of  trees  ; much  less  is  it  that  of  trees  admirable 
for  their  beauty  singly.  It  is  the  beauty  of  large  com- 
positions as  these  may  be  affected,  to  one  looking  in  any 
direction  across  the  harbor,  by  broad  masses  of  foliage 
palpitating  over  the  rigid  structure  of  the  islands  and  head- 
lands ; lifting  their  skylines;  giving  them  some  additional, 
but  not  excessive,  variety  of  tint,  greater  play  of  light  and 
shade,  and  completely  overcoming  the  present  hardness 
of  outline  of  their  loamy  parts,  without  destroying  the  rug- 
gedness of  their  rocky  parts. 

Having  such  an  end  in  view,  the  trees  to  be  planted  will 
be  of  the  same  kinds  'with  those  formerly  growing  on  the 
ground.  That  they  may  help  one  another  to  overcome  the 
difficulties  of  the  situation  they  will,  when  planted,  be  small, 
pliant  and  adaptable,  offering  little  for  the  wind  to  tussle 
with  ; they  will  be  low-branched,  and  will  be  set  snugly  to- 
gether. A large  proportion  of  all,  intimately  mingled  with 
the  others,  will  be  of  species  the  growth  of  which,  like  that 
of  the  little  white  birch  of  our  rural  roadsides,  is  rapid  while 
young  but  not  of  long  continuance.  These,  after  a few 
years,  will  be  overtopped  and  smothered  by  trees  of  slower 
and  larger  growth,  greater  constitutional  vigor,  and  more  last- 
ing qualities.  The  former  will  have  served  as  nurses  to  the 


138 


METROPOLITAN  PARKS. 


[Jan. 


latter  while  they  are  becoming  established,  and  if  timely 
thinning  should  be  neglected,  as  it  is  so  apt  to  be,  they  will 
gradually  disappear  by  natural  process  before  the  permanent 
stock  will  be  fatally  injured  by  crowding. 

Years  must  pass  before  the  permanent  growth  can  acquire 
a full-grown  forest  character,  but  almost  at  once  the  sapling 
plantations  will  give  a pleasing  softness  and  geniality  to  those 
elements  of  the  scenery  that  are  not  contributive  to  its  pic- 
turesque ruggedness.  Three  years  after  the  planting  is  fin- 
ished the  harbor,  as  a whole,  will  have  acquired  a decidedly 
more  good-natured,  cheerful,  and  inviting  character. 

An  impression  is  common  that  at  most  points  of  the  harbor 
trees  cannot  be  got  to  grow  satisfactorily,  and  instances  are 
referred  to  in  which  they  have  failed  or,  at  the  best,  have  grown 
very  slowly  and  with  distorted  forms.  So  far  as  it  has  been 
practicable  to  ascertain,  the  trees,  in  these  cases,  have  been 
ill-chosen  and  ill-planted,  and  the  result  has  no  bearing  upon 
the  proposition  favored  by  the  Memorial  Association. 

Reasons  for  confidence  that,  under  a course  of  manage- 
ment judiciously  adapted  to  the  special  difficulties  of  the 
situation,  an  undertaking  of  the  kind  that  has  been  outlined 
would  be  successful,  are  found  in  experiences  of  which  those 
of  Mr.  Joseph  Story  Fay,  at  Wood’s  Holl,  supply  an  ex- 
ample. 

The  outer  part  of  the  sea-beaten  promontory  of  Wood’s 
Holl,  had  probably  been  devastated  in  the  same  manner  as 
the  islands  of  Boston  Harbor.  Thirty  years  ago  it  was  even 
more  bare  of  trees,  bleak  and  cheerless  than  they  are.  As 
the  result  of  operations  which  have  been  carried  on  within 
that  period  by  Mr.  Fay,  about  two  hundred  acres  of  it  is  now 
covered  with  dense  woods  of  well-grown  trees.  Mr.  Fay, 
visiting  Boston  Harbor  islands  last  summer  with  the  Com- 


1893.] 


APPENDIX. 


139 


missioners,  could  see  no  reason  to  doubt  that  by  similar 
operations  upon  them  equally  satisfactory  results  would  be 
secured. 

There  is  a large  tract  of  barren  land  in  a most  exposed 
situation  on  the  west  coast  of  Lake  Michigan  which,  a few 
years  ago,  was  covered  with  drifting  sand.  Because  it  was 
supposed  to  be  worthless,  and  that  any  attempt  to  improve 
it  would  be  regarded  as  a "Folly,”  Mr.  Robert  Douglass 
chose  to  take  it  as  a place  to  demonstrate  the  practicability 
of  establishing  forests  under  such  special  difficulties  as  the 
situation  presented.  He  has  been  entirely  successful,  the 
sand  is  fixed  and  sheltered,  leaf  mould  is  beginning  to  ac- 
cumulate upon  it,  and  the  ground  is  becoming  comparatively 
moist  and  productive. 

The  Kansas  City,  Fort  Scott  & Gulf  Railroad  Company, 
of  which  the  head-quarters  are  in  this  city,  held  in  1879  a 
body  of  bleak  and  arid  land,  of  alkaline  soil,  naturally  tree- 
less. Some  attempts  to  grow  trees  upon  it  had  been  unsuc- 
cessful, and  it  was  generally  believed  to  be  incapable  of 
bearing  trees.  In  that  year  Mr.  Douglass  offered  to  take  a 
contract  to  establish  trees  upon  it,  payment  to  be  made  him 
conditionally  upon  results.  He  was  completely  successful, 
and  six  hundred  acres  of  the  ground  are  now  shaded  by  a 
thrifty  and  valuable  wood.  On  this  and  other  tracts,  natur- 
ally treeless  and  supposed  to  present  peculiar  difficulties  to 
the  growth  of  trees,  there  are  at  this  time  three  million  flour- 
ishing trees  that  have  been  planted,  under  contracts  with 
different  landowners,  from  five  to  eleven  years  ago,  by  Mr. 
Douglass. 

Mr.  Douglass  has  had  more  experience  in  planting  under 
trying  circumstances,  and  has  planted  more  extensively  and 
successfully  than  any  other  man  on  the  continent.  It  being 
known  that  he  had  a few  years  since  critically  examined  the 


140 


METROPOLITAN  PARKS. 


[Jan. 


plantations  of  Mr.  Fay  and  others  within  reach  of  the 
sea  spray,  and  that  he  had  some  personal  knowledge  of 
Boston  Harbor,  it  was  thought  best  to  ask  his  judgment  of 
the  scheme  under  consideration.  After  preliminary  corres- 
pondence Mr.  Douglass  expressed  his  opinion  of  it  by  offer- 
ing to  enter  into  a contract  to  carry  it  out.  . The  terms  of  his 
offer  will  here  be  stated  as  an  indication  of  what  a man  of 
his  experience  considers  practicable  to  be  accomplished,  and 
at  what  outlay. 

Supposing  that  the  aggregate  areas  to  be  planted  would 
not  be  less  than  four  hundred  acres  in  extent,  Mr.  Douglass 
would  engage  to  establish  plantations  such  as  have  been 
suggested  ; to  care  for  them  until  the  trees  should  be  well 
established,  in  thrifty  condition,  and  so  completely  shading 
the  ground  that  any  further  cultivation  of  it  would  be  un- 
necessary. For  this  service  he  would  agree  to  accept,  as  his 
compensation,  payment  at  rates,  which,  with  a reasonable 
allowance  for  incidental  expenses  of  the  Department  in  con- 
nection with  and  supplementary  to  the  work,  would  be  met 
by  successive  appropriations  for  five  years  of  six  thousand 
dollars  a year.  Payment  of  Mr.  Douglass’  part  to  be  made 
in  instalments  as  the  work  satisfactorily  advances,  the  last 
instalment,  amounting  to  16%  of  the  whole,  to  be  due  only 
when  trees  to  the  number  of  eight  hundred  thousand  are  cer- 
tified by  qualified  agents  appointed  by  the  Department  to 
have  been  found  well-rooted  and  thriftily  growing  upon  the 
ground. 


A compact  statement  is  given  on  the  adjoining  sheet  as  to 
the  position,  area,  ownership,  and  jurisdiction  of  thirty- 
seven  islands  ; of  the  position  and  name  of  thirty-eight  de- 
tached islets,  ledges  and  beacons,  and  of  the  name,  position, 
and  some  other  particulars  of  fifty  headlands,  of  Boston  Bay. 


1893.] 


APPENDIX. 


141 


The  aggregate  area  of  the  islands  is  a little  more  than 
1,300  acres.  Of  this  the  city  owns  439  acres;  the  United 
States,  241  acres ; and,  of  the  remainder,  500  acres  have 
but  five  owners. 

So  far  as  any  part  of  this  land  has  a productive  value,  it  is 
chiefly  because  of  the  pasturage  that  is  found  upon  it.  On 
but  few  islands  is  this  considered  to  be  of  more  than  trifling 
consequence.  Where  it  is  of  any  notable  importance,  it  would, 
as  a rule,  be  an  advantage  to  have  thickets  planted  along  the 
shore  borders  of  the  high  land,  and  clusters  of  trees  at  inter- 
vals through  the  pasture-ground,  in  the  shade  of  which,  when 
grown,  cattle  would  rest. 

On  the  islands  owned  by  the  city  there  are  several  public 
institutions,  chiefly  of  a charitable  character.  Much  of  the 
land  of  these  is  cultivated,  pastured,  or  occupied  by  build- 
ings and  yards,  and,  of  that  which  is  available  for  woods,  it 
would  be  better  that  much  should  be  planted  under  the  di- 
rection and  by  the  forces  of  the  departments  in  charge  of  them. 
It  has  been  ascertained  that  the  heads  of  these  are  well  in- 
clined to  undertake  this  work,  and  especially  so  if  supplied  by 
the  Park  Department  with  nursery  stock  for  the  purpose. 
On  each  of  them,  however,  it  is  believed  that  there  are  bodies 
of  land,  generally  of  small  extent,  which  might  be  planted 
by  the  Park:  Department  under  an  arrangement  such  as  that 
suggested  by  Mr.  Douglass,  while,  substantially,  the  whole 
of  some  of  the  smaller  would  be  available.  Conference  wflth 
the  War  Department  leads  to  a belief  that  it  would  not  object 
to  make  arrangements  with  the  Commissioners  under  which 
considerable  portions  of  the  government  islands  might  be 
planted  by  the  Department.  It  has  been  ascertained,  also, 
that  private  owners  of  other  islands  important  to  be  planted 
are  well  disposed  to  cooperate  with  the  city  in  carrying  out 
the  scheme.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  purpose  of  the  city 


142 


METROPOLITAN  PARKS. 


[Jan. 


would  likewise  be  aided  by  favorable  action  of  towns  border- 
ing upon  the  harbor  beyond  the  jurisdiction  of  Boston.  A 
movement  in  this  direction  has  already  been  made  by  the 
town  of  Quincy.  It  is  also  reasonable  to  assume  that  when 
a demonstration  shall  have  been  made  of  the  practicability  of 
growing  trees  upon  the  more  exposed  points,  there  will  be 
a great  deal  of  planting  about  the  harbor  independently  of 
any  arrangement  with  the  city,  as  there  is  in  all  its  land- 
ward suburbs ; an  increased  value  of  the  land  being  sure  to 
follow. 


It  is  believed,  as  the  general  result  of  this  review,  that  if 
the  Park  Department  should  be  provided  with  the  amount 
of  $5,000  a year,  for  six  years,  to  be  used  at  its  discretion 
for  the  purpose  desired  to  be  accomplished  by  the  Memorial 
Association,  it  would,  with  such  cooperation  as  it  would  be 
convenient  for  other  departments  of  the  city  government  to 
offer,  be  able  to  secure  a substantial  success.  And  it  is  be- 
lieved that  this  success  would  have  been  gained  with  large 
profit  to  the  city. 


- 

' 


.ffO  >B  >3 


vYi 

>1 


‘ 

( rAoo’i  c u:'t ) 

• . ■-  i.iVii  7'ivl  ) 

(.etok'  ..sen  s'liiU.) 

. 

- 


— — 


1 

Governor’s  Island. 

72 

cres 

United  States. 

Boston.  Fort  Winthrop. 

2 

Castle  .“ 

21.6 

kk  Fort  Independence. 

3 

Long  Island  Head. 

33 

‘ k Lt. -house  and  batteries. 

4 

Lovell’s  Island. 

71.1 

“ Gov’t  Buoy  Station. 

5 

George’s  “ 

39.7 

“ Fort  Warren. 

6 

Light  House 

3.6 

Hull.  Boston  Light-house. 

7 

Great  Brewster. 

23.1 ' 

City  of  Boston. 

“ Leased  to  Benj.  Dean. 

8 

Raiusford  Island. 

17.4 

Boston.  Almshouse. 

9 

Gallop’s  k'k 

25.1 

“ Quarantine  Station. 

10 

Long 

182.5 

“ Almshouse. 

11 

Deer  “ 

182.3 

“ Houses  of  Industry  and 

Reformation. 

12 

Apple  “ 

8.9 

13 

Snake  “ 

6.1 

Tewksbury  and  other's. 

Winthrop. 

14 

Spectacle  “ 

61.4 

N.  Ward  & Co. 

Boston.  Rendering  Works. 

15 

Thompson’s  “ 

146.5 

Boston  Asylum  and  Farm 
School  for  Indigent  Boys.  “ . Farm  School. 

16 

Moon  41 

40.6 

L.  B.  Titus.  !j 

Quincy.  Sewerage  Reservoir. 

17 

Little  Moon  kk 

2.8 

(Nearly  dredged  out.) 

18 

I-Iaugman’s  “ 

1 

Unknown. 

19 

Nut  « 

5.2 

H.  T.  Spear,  G’dn. 

20 

Raccoon  “ 

4.5 

W.  D.  Howard. 

21 

Cat  “ 

8 

Charles  Derry. 

22 

Grape  “ 

52.7 

W.  L.  Bradley. 

Weymouth. 

23 

Slate  “ 

13.5 

S.  Jones  and  others. 

Hull. 

24 

Chandler’s  tk 

4.5 

J.  R.  Brewer. 

Hingham. 

25 

Ragged 

3.6 

Heirs  of  S.  Downer. 

26 

Sailor’s  kk 

3.9 

J.  R.  Brewer. 

27 

Button  kk 

1.1 

A.  C.  Horsey. 

28 

Bumkin  “ 

33.7 

Harvard  College. 

Hull. 

29 

Hog 

8.6 

Sally  Jones. 

30 

Sheep  kk 

3.2 

W.  James  & Sons. 

| S.  Jones  and  others. 

81 

32 

Prince’s  Head. 
Peddock’s  Island. 

191.6 

33 

Middle  Brewster. 

12.2 

Augustus  Russ. 

34 

Outer  Brewster. 

17.5 

Benjamin  Dean. 

35 

Calf  Island. 

17.1 

J J.  S.  Weeks. 

36 

Little  Calf  Island. 

1.1 

37 

38 

39 

43 

Green  Island. 

Marblehead  Rock. 
Tinker’s  Island. 
Little  Pig  Rocks. 
Ram  Island. 

Great  Pig  Rocks. 

1,8 

James  Young. 
(Bare  rocky  islets.) 

Whistling  Buoy. 
Beacou. 

44 

Dread  Ledge. 

(Dry  ledge.) 

Spindle. 

45 

Egg  Rock. 

(Bold  rocky  islet.) 

Light-house. 

46 

Shag  Rocks. 

(Bare  rocky  islets.) 

47 

Eea  Island. 

48 

Bass  Rock. 

(Dry  ledge.) 

Spindle. 

49 

Great  Faun  Bar. 

(Dry  spit.) 

Beacon. 

50 

Deer  Island  Poiutl 

(Dry  spit  and  reef.) 

Beacon  (to  be  replaced 
by  a light-house) . 

51 

Bird  Islaud. 

• (Sunken  island.) 

Spindle. 

52 

Nix’s  Mate. 

(Sunken  island.) 

Beacon  and  Bell-buoy. 

53 

Quarantine  Rocks. 

(Bare  rocky  islets.) 

54 

Sunken  Island. 

(Dry  shoal  or  ledge.) 

Beacon. 

55 

Half  Moon  Islaud. 

(Dry  sand  bar.) 

56 

Pig  Rocks. 

(Dry  rocks.) 

Beacon. 

57 

Beacou  Island. 

(Rocky  islet.) 

Beacon. 

58 

Brewster  Bar. 

(Dry  spit.) 

Narrows  Light-house. 

59 

False  Spit. 

(Dry  ledge.) 

Beacon. 

60 

Black  Rock. 

(Bare  rock.) 

61 

Shag  or  Egg  Rocks. 

(Bare  rocky  islets.) 

62 

Point  Allerton  Led<*e. 

(Dry  ledges.) 

Beacou. 

63 

The  Hardings. 

Beacon  and  Bell-buoy. 

64 

Little  Black  Rock. 

(Bare  rocky  islets.) 

65 

Black  Rock. 

66 

Sea  Ledge. 

67 

Black  Ledge. 

68 

Round  Rock. 

69 

Brush  Island. 

70 

White  Head. 

71 

Gull  Island. 

72 

Tobias  Rock. 

73 

West  Shag  Rock. 

74 

East  Shag  Rocks. 

75 

Minot’s  Ledge. 

(Dry  ledge.) 

Light-house. 

HEADLANDS. 

Those  partly  occupied  by  hotels  and  summer  cottages  distinguished  thus  x ; where  partly 
wooded,  -f-. 

A.  Marblehead  Neck  $ (The  Nanepashemet  House  —Eastern  and  Corinthian  Yacht  Clubs). 

B.  Phillips'  Point  x + (Swampscott  — Phillips’  Beach). 

C.  Fishing  Point  x (Sivampsoott  — Blaney’s  Beach). 

D.  Red  Rock  (Lynn  —King's  Beach) . 

E.  Little  Nahant  x + (Lvuu  and  Little  Nakant  Beaches). 

F.  Nahant  Head  x + (Nahant  Harbor—  Yacht  moorings) . 

G.  Bayley’s  Hill  ami  West  Cliff  X (Nahant). 

H.  Tree  Point  (Lynu  Harbor  — Lynn  and  West  Lynn  Yacht  Clubs). 

I.  Pines  Point  x + (Chelsea  or  Revere  Beach  — Point  ot  Pines  Hotel). 

J.  Grover's  Cliff  X (lViuthrop  — Southern  point  of  Chelsea  Beach). 

K.  Winthvop’s  Head  X ( Wintbrop  — Great  Head  Yacht  Club  house  and  moorings ). 

L.  Point  Shirley  x (Vwntlirop  — Taft’s  Hotel). 

M.  Chelsea  Point  X 4 (Winthrop). 

N.  East  Wood  Island  (Wood  Island  Park  — Park  Department) . 

O.  West  Wood  Island  (East  Boston). 

P.  Jeffries  Point  (East  Boston  — Jeffries  Yacht  Club  house  and  moorings). 

Chelsea  (United  Stales  Marine  Hospital  — Chelsea  Yacht  Club  house  and  moorings). 

Charlestown  (United  States  Navy  Yard  — Bunker  Bill  Yacht  Club). 

Q.  Dorchester  or  City  Point  (Marine  Park  — Park  Department;  Boston,  South  Boston,  and  Bay. 

View  Yacht  Club  houses  and  moorings.) 

R.  Old  Harbor  Point  (Sewerage  Pumping  Station  — Bay  State  Gas  works) . 

S.  Savin  Hill  and  Fox  Point  x + (Savin  Bill  Yacht  Club  house  and  moorings) . 

T.  Commercial  Point  (Boston  Gas  W ovks — Dorchester  Yacht  Club  house  and  moorings). 

U.  Squantum  Meadows  x + (Squantum  Beach  — Entrance  to  Neponset  River) . 

V.  Squantum  Head  X + (Squaw  Rock  Profile) . 

W.  Moswetusset  Hill  + (Quincy  Bay) . 

X.  Quincy  Great  Hill  (Quincy  and  I-Iingham  bays). 

Y.  Hough’s  Neck  x (Meat’s  Beach) . 

Z.  Rock  Island  Head  (Weymouth  Fore  River) . 

A1.  Gull  Point  (Germantown  East  Point) . 

B'.  Phillips’  Head  (Germantown  West  Point). 

C'.  Bent  Point  (Quincy  — Quincy  Yacht  Club  moorings) . 

D1.  Lovell’s  Grove  + and  'Weymouth  Great  Hill  (N.  Weymouth). 

E1.  Eastern  Neck  (Weymouth  Fore  and  Back  rivers) . 

F1.  Upper  Neck  “ 

G1.  Lower  Neck  “ “ “ “ 

H1.  Stodder’s  Neck  ffiveymouth  Back  River) . 

I'.  Crow  Point  x ©owner’s  Landing  — Hingham  Harbor). 

J'.  Otis’  Hill  (Hiujam  Harbor) . 

K‘.  Planter’s  Hill  (gingham  Harbor). 

L1.  World’s  End  (S&utli  side  of  entrance  to  Weir  River). 

M1.  Hampton  Mill  (Weir  River). 

N1.  Sagamore  IIend|x  (Nantasket  Beach  — Hotel  Nantasket). 

O'-  White  Head  x nVeir  River  and  Nantasket  Beach). 

P'.  Strawberry  Hili|x  (Nantasket  Beach) . 

Q1.  Skull  Head  x (Bingham  Bay). 

II'.  Hull  x (Bull  TieP  Club  house  and  moorings).  J 

8‘-  Windmill  Point  x (Pemberton  Hotel).  I 

T1.  Nantasket  Hills  (Signal  Station).  I 

D1.  Point  Allerton  I (Northern  Point  of  Nantasket  Beach).  I 

V1-  Rocldand  Hills  x (Atlantic  and  Rockland  Houses).  I 

W1.  Green  Hill  x (Block  Rock  House).  I 

X1.  Strawberry  p0i|t  x (Glades  House).  I 


1893.] 


APPENDIX. 


143 


m 

A “MASSACHUSETTS  FOREST.” 

[From  “ Garden  and  Forest,”  August,  1891.] 

It  is  remarkable  how  little  the  populations  of  our  great  cities 
often  know  of  prominent  and  important  features  of  the  landscape 
close  at  hand.  A notable  instance  of  this  is  to  be  found  in 
the  beautiful  range  of  the  Blue  Hills,  near  Boston.  These  hills 
are  the  highest  elevations  in  eastern  Massachusetts,  and  are  the 
only  eminences  of  a distinctively  mountainous  character  near  the 
Atlantic  coast  line  of  the  United  States  south  of  Mount  Agamen- 
ticus,  near  Kittery,  in  Maine.  The  highest  summit  is  known  as 
the  “Big  Blue,”  and  is  the  westernmost  of  the  range,  where  stands 
the  stone  tower  of  the  Rotch  Meteorological  Observatory,  a pri- 
vately endowed  institution  which  is  performing  a valuable  scientific 
service.  This  summit  is  six  hundred  and  thirty-five  feet  above 
the  sea  level,  but,  being  so  near  the  ocean,  that  altitude  shows  for 
its  full  value,  giving  an  appearance  of  height  greater  than  that 
often  possessed  by  inland  elevations  very  much  superior. 

The  Blue  Hills  are  the  most  prominent  landscape  feature  of  the 
coast  of  Massachusetts  Bay  and  of  the  “ Boston  Basin,”  as  it  is 
called,  of  which  they  form  the  southern  wall.  Their  noble  undu- 
lating lines,  presenting  a succession  of  gracefully  sweeping  curves, 
like  inverted  crescents,  form  charming  backgrounds  of  the  views 
to  the  southward  from  Franklin  Park  and  the  Arnold  Arboretum. 
From  the  former,  the  range,  lifting  itself  without  foreshortening  on 
the  thither  side  of  the  Neponset  valley,  and  thereby  gaining  in  dig- 
nity and  apparent  elevation,  appears  to  be  included  in  the  park, 
which,  in  the  noble  vista  from  the  southern  end  of  the  Playstead 
Overlook  down  the  great  central  meadow  of  the  Country  Park, 
seems  to  stretch  away  to  the  very  base  of  the  hills.  This  lovely 
pastoral  landscape  has  a beautiful  complement  near  by.  From  the 
outlook  point  of  the  recently  completed  Loop  road  of  the  Wilder- 
ness in  the  park,  the  Blue  Hills  form  the  background  of  a perfect 
sylvan  picture,  making  the  focal  element  of  the  composition,  as 
it  may  well  be  called,  of  one  of  Mr.  Olmsted’s  most  exquisite 
creations.  Whoever  has  seen  this  enchanting  view,  — standing  at 
the  edge  of  a parapet  at  the  head  of  a rocky  ravine  in  the  steep 
hillside,  with  a glimpse  of  the  main  drive  of  the  park  smoothly 


144 


METROPOLITAN  PARKS. 


[Jan. 


gleaming  as  it  curves  and  loses  itself  in  the  trees  just  below  with 
a sort  of  river-like  effect  (very  much,  it  may  be  presumed,  like 
those  simulations  of  water  made  with  surfaces  of  sand  in  the 
gardens  of  the  Japanese),  and  overlooking  an  unbroken  billowy 
expanse  of  woodland,  varied  with  the  shadings  and  forms  of  com- 
mingling deciduous  and  coniferous  trees,  the  stately  hills  closing 
in  the  vista,  — whoever  has  seen  this  will  not  be  likely  to  forget  it. 
It  is  one  of  those  rare  landscape  passages  which,  like  that  sight  of 
the  Wartburg  framed  in  the  foliage  of  the  Thuringian  forest  from 
a hillside  near  Eisenach,  is  treasured  most  preciously  in  the  memory, 
and  is  destined  to  become  equally  famous. 

The  Blue  Hills  are  thus  familiar  to  thousands  at  a distance,  and 
very  many  who  have  gazed  in  delighted  admiration  have  been 
filled  with  the  curious  longing  that  generally  arises  at  such  times, 
to  know  them  close  at  hand  and  gaze  from  their  summits  over  the 
widespreading  landscape  that  must  thence  be  disclosed.  But  of 
those  thousands  very  few  have  ever  visited  the  spot,  although  the 
hills  are,  indeed,  a favorite  excursion  ground  for  many  nature 
lovers,  — like  the  members  of  the  Appalachian  Club,  for  instance. 
It  would  be  thought,  however,  that  a range  of  hills  like  this, 
close  to  a great  city,  would  long  since  have  become  popular  and 
celebrated  as  a pleasure  resort,  as  they  certainly  would  in  the 
neighborhood  of  a European  metropolis. 

The  views  from  those  summits  are  remarkably  far-reaching  and 
varied.  They  embrace  a great  extent  of  coast  and  inland  scenery  : 
the  blue  sea  indenting  the  shores,  meandering  rivers,  wide  meadows 
and  plains,  clustering  towns,  forest  expanses,  hilly  undulations, 
and  the  lofty  peaks  of  far-away  mountains,  — Monadnock  and 
Wachusett, — with  other  ranges  more  distant.  To  the  northward 
lies  the  great  city,  spreading  until  its  mass  of  buildings  is  lost 
beyond  the  hills  which  they  cover.  Its  noise  is  hushed,  its  bustle 
not  apparent  save  in  the  smoky  streamers  that  float  like  dusky 
pennants  in  the  air.  One  feels  no  sense  of  the  swarming  multi- 
tudes, with  their  manifold  occupations,  burdens  and  cares,  concen- 
trated in  that  space  which,  though  so  limited  in  comparison  with 
the  vast  encircling  horizon,  holds  a third  of  the  population  of  the 
next  to  the  most  densely  populated  State  in  the  Union.  To  the 
southward,  however,  the  contrast  to  the  city  is  impressive.  Save 
for  a peeping  spire,  or  a distant  town  that  seems  but  a wee  cluster 
of  houses,  seen  at  intervals,  the  earth’s  surface  appears  as  a vast 
wilderness,  almost  as  unbroken  as  it  must  have  looked  when  the 
eye  of  a white  man  first  gazed  from  these  hill-tops.  Close  at 
hand,  on  the  southerly  side,  just  at  the  foot  of  the  Big  Blue, 
nestles  the  beautiful  placid  sheet  called  Ponkapog  Pond.  Near  by 


1893.] 


APPENDIX. 


145 


Mr.  T.  B.  Aldrich,  the  poet,  has  his  summer  home,  amid  surround- 
ings where  it  seems  hardly  possible  that  it  could  be  only  twelve 
miles  removed  from  the  turmoil  of  a great  city. 

In  all  this  varied  landscape  human  occupancy  seems  but  a pass- 
ing incident,  much  as  it  has  done  to  change  the  face  of  nature. 
The  abiding  impression  is  that  of  nature  herself,  and  humanity 
seems  to  be  but  one  of  her  forces,  temporarily  modifying  the  earth’s 
surface,  like  the  beavers,  the  ants  or  the  earth-worms.  And  how 
the  trees  serve  to  veil  the  structures  of  man  ! I have  been  struck 
by  this  even  on  the  verge  of  London,  where  trees  seemed  the  main 
feature,  with  brick  walls  and  roofs  but  peering  between  them. 
After  all,  it  would  take  but  a few  years  of  absence  on  the  part  of 
man  for  all  this  expanse  to  relapse  into  utter  wildness,  wiping  out 
all  signs  of  our  handiwork,  just  as  the  sponge  effaces  the  chalk- 
marks  from  a black-board. 

The  air  on  these  hill-tops  is  like  that  of  the  mountains,  pure  and 
bracing,  for  the  winds  sweep  freely  from  all  sides.  Here  would  be 
an  ideal  place  for  a great  sanitarium  ; for,  close  at  hand,  people  of 
limited  means,  who  cannot  afford  long  journeys,  would  find  all  the 
attractions  of  air  and  scenery  for  which  many  are  accustomed  to 
travel  hundreds  of  miles. 

The  most  convenient  way  to  reach  the  Blue  Hills  is  to  take  the 
cars  of  either  the  Providence  division  of  the  Old  Colony,  or  the 
New  York  & New  England,  to  Readville  station  in  the  town  of 
Hyde  Park.  The  two  stations  are  within  a few  hundred  feet 
of  each  other.  From  here  it  is  an  easy  walk  of  something  over 
two  miles  to  the  place  where  the  Canton  turnpike  crosses  the  west- 
erly shoulder  of  the  Big  Blue.  There  are  also  carriages  always 
to  be  had  at  the  railway  stations  at  reasonable  rates.  The  way  to 
the  hills  is  over  pleasant  roads.  It  is  only  a short  distance  to  the 
Neponset  River,  which  is  crossed  by  a picturesque  stone-arched 
bridge.  Passing  the  river,  we  come  to  the  town  of  Milton,  one  of 
the  wealthiest  and  most  beautiful  in  the  neighborhood  of  Boston. 
It  is  filled  with  fine  country  seats.  The  land  is  mostly  in  large 
holdings,  the  cutting  up  into  small  lots  and  the  encouragement  of 
a numerous  population  having  been  discouraged  by  the  residents. 
The  consequent  effect  is  to  give  the  town  a peculiarly  English, 
park-like  character. 

The  Blue  Hill  range  is  chiefly  in  Milton,  though  a large  portion 
lies  in  Canton,  the  next  town  to  the  southward,  and  in  the, city  of 
Quincy  to  the  eastward.  It  is  not  generally  known  that  it  is  to 
these  hills  that  the  Commonwealth  of  Massachusetts  owes  its  name. 
The  country  about  the  bay  was  called  by  the  Indians  living  here- 
about, “Massachusetts,”  a word  which  in  the  Algonquin  tongue 


146 


METROPOLITAN  PARKS. 


[Jan. 


literally  means  the  u Great  Hills  Place.”  Thus  it  was  that  Massa- 
chusetts Bay  received  its  name  ; thence  the  colony  and  the  province 
of  Massachusetts  Bay,  and  finally  the  Commonwealth  of  Massachu- 
setts. It  seems  appropriate  that  the  last  remnant  of  the  Indians 
in  this  part  of  the  world,  the  Ponkapog  tribe,  lived  on  the  southerly 
verge  of  these  hills  at  the  place  that  still  bears  their  name, 
and  where  possibly  some  of  their  descendants  may  yet  be  found 
absorbed  in  the  rural  population  of  the  neighborhood. 

Even  merely  for  the  sake  of  commemorating  the  origin  of  the 
name  of  the  great  State  from  which  has  arisen  the  glorious  fabric 
of  our  mighty  republic  with  its  free  institutions,  — aside  from  the 
remarkable  beauty  and  picturesque  character  of  the  region,  — it 
would  seem  to  be  extremely  desirable  that  this  noble  range,  which 
thus  gave  Massachusetts  its  name,  should  in  some  way  be  forever 
dedicated  to  public  uses.  The  best  way  to  accomplish  this  end 
would  seem  to  be  for  the  State  to  take  the  entire  region  occupied 
by  the  hills,  which  is  still  for  the  greater  part  in  a wild,  woodland 
state,  and  make  a permanent  forest  reservation  of  it.  “ The 
Massachusetts  Forest  ” would  be  an  exceedingly  appropriate  name 
for  the  place. 

It  would  require  a special  legislative  act  for  the  purpose.  Action 
under  the  public  forest  law  — under  which,  by  the  way,  nothing 
has  ever  yet  been  done  — would  be  hardly  practicable,  as  it  would 
be  difficult  to  get  the  three  communities  in  which  the  range  lies  to 
unite  to  this  end.  If  the  matter  were  properly  brought  before  the 
legislature,  the  patriotic  purpose  underlying  the  proposition,  which 
should  appeal  to  every  true  son  of  Massachusetts,  ought  to  be  suf- 
ficient to  secure  favorable  action,  to  say  nothing  of  the  great  bene- 
fit which  would  be  conferred  upon  the  entire  State  by  the  creation 
of  so  beautiful  and  valuable  a public  domain.  Within  sight  of 
these  hill-tops  there  lies  more  than  half  the  population  and  more 
than  half  of  the  property  value  of  this  thickly  peopled  and  rich 
Commonwealth.  The  establishment  of  such  a public  forest  would 
greatly  advance  the  happiness  and  health  of  this  population,  and 
would  thereby,  in  increasing  the  attractiveness  of  the  region,  cor- 
respondingly enhance  its  prosperity. 

A special  act,  taking  this  region  for  the  purpose,  and  providing 
the  means  for  its  administration  and  improvement,  would  therefore 
be  necessary.  It  would  probably  be  a good  idea  to  place  the 
domain  in  charge  of  the  newly  created  society  called  “ The 
Trustees  of  Public  Reservations.”  The  task  could  be  intrusted  to 
no  more  willing  and  capable  hands. 

The  cost  would  not  be  great.  The  land  is  rough  and  of  com- 
paratively little  value.  Much  of  it  would  probably  be  given  by 


1893.] 


APPENDIX. 


147 


the  owners  for  such  a purpose,  as  was  the  case  with  the  Lynn 
Woods.  The  rest  could  be  obtained  at  low  figures,  either  by 
ordinary  purchase  or  under  the  right  of  eminent  domain. 

The  improvement  of  a tract  of  such  a nature  would  be  com- 
paratively inexpensive  also.  The  most  that  would  be  needed 
would  be  to  protect  it  from  fires  and  other  devastations,  and  to 
secure  a forest  growth  where  desirable.  Then  a system  of  good 
roads,  winding  along  the  slopes,  with  vistas  opening  out  through 
the  trees  here  and  there,  and  with  branches  to  the  summits,  should 
be  created.  This  system,  connecting  with  the  nearest  railway 
points,  would  render  the  range  easily  accessible  to  the  great  popu- 
lation of  the  city  and  of  the  entire  surrounding  region.  It  would 
form  one  of  the  most  beautiful  drives,  and  a service  of  popular 
conveyances  could  be  arranged  for  at  cheap  rates,  that  would  take 
passengers  from  one  end  of  the  range  to  the  other,  going  by  one 
railway  route  and  returning  by  another.  A round-trip  ticket, 
covering  the  entire  excursion,  would  bring  it  within  the  means  of 
the  multitude. 

Favorable  sites  for  hotels,  sanitariums,  restaurants,  etc.,  could 
be  leased  to  the  right  parties,  under  proper  conditions,  and  possibly 
these  might  be  approached  by  lines  of  electric  railway  connecting 
with  the  suburban  services  of  the  steam  lines.  With  such  con- 
veniences these  institutions  could  not  fail  to  be  liberally  patronized, 
with  a long  season,  lasting  from  spring-time  well  into  the  autumn. 

By  all  means,  then,  let  us  have  our  “ Massachusetts  Forest.” 
To  that  end  I would  suggest  that  persons  naturally  interested  in 
bringing  it  about  — such  as  the  members  of  the  Trustees  of  Pub- 
lic Reservations,  or  of  the  Appalachian  Club  — take  the  matter 
definitely  in  hand,  inform  themselves  as  thoroughly  as  possible  on 
the  subject,  including  the  character  and  conditions  of  the  region, 
and  unite  in  bringing  it  to  the  attention  of  the  next  General  Court 
of  Massachusetts. 


SYLVESTER  BAXTER. 


I 


£ Md:'  ( 


